ELEANOR  HELD  OUT  THE  SEAL,  BUT  JIM  LOOKED  FORLORN. 
Polly  in  New  York.  Frontispiece — (Page  77) 


POLLY 

IN  NEW  YORK 


BY 
LILLIAN  ELIZABETH  ROY 


Author  of 

POLLY   OF   PEBBLY   PIT,    POLLY  IN   NEW  YORK, 

POLLY    AND    HER    FRIENDS    ABROAD,    POLLY*S 

BUSINESS    VENTURE. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

H.  S.  BARBOUR 


Made  in  the  United  States  o£  America 


POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

CHAPTER  I 

IN  THE  BIG  CITY 

THE  long  Pullman  train,  that  left  Denver 
behind  and  carried  Polly  Brewster  away  on  her 
first  venture  from  the  ranch-home,  was  fitted  up 
as  luxuriously  as  capital  could  do  it.  Eleanor 
Maynard,  Polly's  bosom  friend,  enjoyed  her  com- 
panion's awe  and  wonderment — that  a  mere  car 
should  be  so  furnished. 

"Nolla,"  whispered  Polly,  furtively  glancing 
about,  "how  different  are  these  cars  from  the  ones 
that  come  in  and  go  out  at  Oak  Creek!" 

Eleanor,  whose  pet  name  was  Nolla,  laughed. 
"I  should  think  they  would  be,  Polly.  Why, 
those  'ancients'  that  rock  back  and  forth  between 
Denver  and  Oak  Creek,  are  the  'only  originals' 
now  in  existence.  They'll  be  in  Barnum's  Show 
next  Season  as  curios." 

Polly  seemed  to  fully  appreciate  the  comfort  of 


2  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

her  traveling  carriage,  and  remarked,  "One  would 
hardly  believe  these  cars  are  going  at  all !  They 
run  so  smoothly  and  without  any  awful  screeching 
of  the  joints." 

Anne  Stewart,  the  teacher  to  whose  charge 
these  two  girls  had  been  committed,  had  been 
studying  the  time-table,  but  she  smiled  at  Polly's 
words.  Then  she  turned  to  her  mother,  a  sweet- 
faced  woman  who  was  enjoying  the  trip  almost  as 
much  as  the  young  girls  were,  and  said:  "Mother, 
we'll  have  at  least  seven  hours  in  Chicago  before 
we  have  to  take  the  New  York  train.  We  can  visit 
Paul  all  that  time." 

"Goody !  Then  Poll  can  visit  John  and  I  can 
see  Daddy,"  exclaimed  Eleanor,  eagerly.  "But 
we  must  first  charter  the  wash-room  to  turn 
ourselves  from  dusty  travelers  into  respectable 
citizens." 

"There  isn't  a  fleck  of  dust  to  be  seen,  Anne," 
objected  Polly,  glancing  around  the  tidy  interior, 
then  at  herself  and  friends. 

"Wait  till  after  we  have  crossed  the  plains  and 
passed  through  all  kinds  of  towns — we  won't  look 
like  the  same  people." 

To  Polly,  that  journey  was  a  source  of  great  in- 
terest and  fun.  The  dining-car,  the  folding  tables 
for  games  or  work,  the  sleeping  arrangements — 


IN  THE  BIG  CITY  3 

all  were  so  strangely  different  from  the  vast  open- 
air  life  of  the  ranch. 

Then  the  express  train  reached  Chicago  and  the 
recess  hours  were  filled  with  greetings,  visits  and 
then  good-bys,  before  the  little  party  of  four  was 
on  its  last  lap  of  the  journey. 

After  leaving  Chicago,  Eleanor  asked  curi- 
ously: "What  did  you  think  of  our  city,  Polly?" 

"I  never  saw  such  crowds  of  troubled  people! 
Everyone  looked  as  if  the  worries  of  the  universe 
rested  upon  his  mind.  And  not  one  soul  walked 
or  acted  as  if  there  was  a  moment  to  spare  before 
the  end  of  the  world  would  throw  everything  into 
chaos!" 

Polly's  graphic  description  caused  her  com- 
panions to  laugh,  and  Eleanor  added:  "If  that 
is  what  you  think  of  Chicago,  just  wait  until  you 
reach  New  York.  The  folks,  there,  are  simply 
wild!  Now  Chicago  is  considered  quite  slow,  in 
comparison." 

Polly  stared  unbelievingly  at  Eleanor,  and  Anne 
Stewart  laughed.  But  Mrs.  Stewart  placed  a  calm 
hand  over  the  amazed  girl's  throbbing  wrist,  and 
said  sweetly:  "Nolla  is  joking  as  usual." 

The  four  members  which  composed  this  little 
group  of  travelers,  arrived  at  Grand  Central  just 
before  noon.  Polly  gazed  in  consternation  at  the 


4  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

vast  station  where  the  constant  going  and  coming 
of  trains  and  people  made  a  most  interesting  sight 
for  her. 

"We'll  stop  at  the  Commodore  for  a  few  days, 
girls,  as  it  is  so  convenient  for  us,"  remarked 
Anne,  telling  a  porter  to  conduct  them  to  the  hotel 
mentioned. 

Placed  in  a  comfortable  suite,  Anne  remarked: 
"I  think  we  will  call  up  the  Evans  or  the  Latimers, 
next.  You  remember,  we  were  told  to  let  them 
know  the  moment  we  arrived." 

The  others  agreed  to  this  suggestion,  so  Anne 
telephoned  the  two  families.  Mrs.  Latimer  was 
out,  but  Mrs.  Evans  said  she  would  come  right 
down  town  to  meet  the  new-comers. 

"Well,  we  can  unpack  our  bags  while  we  are 
waiting  for  her,"  suggested  Anne.  "But  we  must 
manage  to  get  to  a  store  this  afternoon,  and  do 
some  shopping  for  Polly." 

"Dear  me !  I  was  hoping  you  would  show  us  all 
the  sky-scrapers  IVe  read  about,"  said  Polly, 
eagerly. 

"I  planned  to  let  the  sight-seeing  wait  for  a  few 
days,  as  we  must  secure  a  place  to  live  in,  first  of 
all.  Here  it  is  the  middle  of  September,  and  I 
have  to  start  school  work  the  first  of  October,  you 
know.  In  a  great  city  like  New  York,  the  desir- 


IN  THE  BIG  CITY  5 

able  apartments  are  generally  taken  as  early  as 
July  and  August.  So  we  are  up  against  it,  in 
beginning  to  seek  so  late  in  the  season." 

"But  we  can't  hunt  at  night,  Anne,  and  you 
might  take  us  out  to  show  us  the  Great  White 
Way — as  the  boys  call  it,"  urged  Eleanor. 

Mrs.  Evans  came  down  in  time  to  have  luncheon 
with  the  Westerners,  and  in  the  hour  she  visited 
with  them,  it  was  learned  that  Mrs.  Latimer  and 
she  had  scoured  the  uptown  west-side  for  suitable 
apartments  for  Mrs.  Stewart,  but  everything  had 
been  leased  long  before.  She  concluded  with: 

"So  I  really  do  not  see  what  you  are  going  to 
do,  unless  you  just  happen  to  stumble  over  a  place 
which  has  recently  been  resigned.  There  is  abso- 
lutely no  use  in  doing  any  place  above  Ninety- 
sixth  street,  as  we  sought  diligently  from  that  street 
up  as  far  as  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-eighth  street, 
and  not  a  decent  thing  to  be  seen  or  had !" 

"But  Ninety-sixth  street  is  awfully  far  uptown, 
isn't  it?"  asked  Anne,  to  whom  the  city  was  as  yet 
a  small  middle-west  town. 

"Oh,  dear,  no!  It  is  about  the  center  of  the 
city,  between  North  and  South,  these  days." 

"I'm  sure  we  will  find  just  what  we  want,  dear 
Mrs.  Evans,  but  we  are  grateful  to  you  for  being 
so  kind  to  us,"  said  Polly. 


"My  dear  child,  I  feel  that  I  have  done  nothing 
in  comparison  to  all  you  have  done  for  me  and 
mine.  To  know  that  my  dear  brother  had  friends 
during  the  last  days  of  his  life,  means  so  much  to 
me.  I  always  had  a  horrible  feeling  that  he  died 
in  the  Klondike  without  money  or  friends;"  and 
Mrs.  Evans  hurriedly  dried  the  tears  welling  up 
in  her  eyes. 

Of  course,  that  launched  the  conversation  about 
Old  Man  Montresor,  and  so  interested  were  all 
concerned,  that  Mrs.  Evans  started  when  she 
heard  the  mantel  clock  chime  the  hour. 

"Merciful  goodness!  Here  am  I — my  first 
call,  and  staying  all  day!"  she  laughed. 

"It's  not  late,  Mrs.  Evans.  We  were  only  go- 
ing to  look  up  a  first-class  shop  where  Polly  can 
buy  a  few  things,"  replied  Anne. 

"Perhaps  I  can  be  of  service  in  recommending 
a  place?" 

Several  shops  of  quality  were  spoken  of,  and 
as  these  were  located  on  Fifth  avenue,  not  far 
from  Forty-second  street,  everyone  felt  relieved. 
It  would  not  take  much  time  to  do  this  necessary 
shopping,  but  Mrs.  Stewart  preferred  to  remain 
at  the  hotel. 

Mrs.  Evans  said  good-by  and  the  three  young 
folks  walked  to  Fifth  avenue.  It  was  about  four 


IN  THE  BIG  CITY  7 

o'clock  and  the  avenue  presented  an  endless  stream 
of  automobiles — one  line  going  down,  and  the 
other  line  going  uptown.  The  crowds  of  people 
hurrying  to  and  fro  made  Polly  tremble. 

"For  goodness'  sake,  Anne,  where  do  all  these 
folks  come  from,  and  where  are  they  rushing 
to?" 

Anne  and  Eleanor  laughed. 

"Well !  If  this  is  your  wonderful  Fifth  avenue, 
I  don't  think  much  of  it,"  declared  Polly,  a  few 
moments  later. 

"Why — it's  simply  great!"  exclaimed  Eleanor, 
having  a  far  different  view-point  of  the  city. 

"Great !  Why,  just  look  how  narrow  the  street 
is?  Main  street,  in  Oak  Creek,  is  twice  as  wide. 
And  Denver  has  nicer  streets  than  this  famous 
alley  you  hear  so  much  about,"  scorned  Polly. 

Again  her  companions  laughed  merrily.  At  this 
moment  a  traffic  policeman  sounded  a  shrill 
whistle.  Instantly  the  mass  of  pedestrians,  backed 
up  on  the  curbs,  started  to  cross.  Or  to  use  Polly's 
own  description  in  the  letter  she  wrote  home  that 
night:  "Really,  dearies,  they  catapulted  back  and 
forth  like  rockets !  We  had  to  rush  with  them,  or 
be  trampled  upon.  It  is  just  awful ! 

"And  such  freaks,  mother!  Nolla  says  it  is 
style.  Well,  all  I  can  say  is,  spare  me  from  suck 


8  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

outrageous  styles !  Most  every  woman  and  girl  I 
met  had  faces  covered  thick  with  layers  of  white 
chalk,  with  a  daub  of  red  on  each  cheek,  and  lips 
as  scarlet  as  a  clown's.  In  fact,  I  had  to  stand 
stock-still  and  look  at  one  queer  creature — she 
looked  exactly  as  if  she  was  made  up  for  a  circus. 
Anne  and  Nolla  laugh  at  me,  all  the  time.  But  I 
don't  care,  so!  These  horrid  painted  things  are 
not  nice! 

"If  I  hadn't  set  my  heart  on  being  an  interior 
decorator,  I'd  take  up  lecturing,  and  teach  these 
crazy  New  Yorkers  how  to  look  and  enjoy  a  simple 
life." 

From  the  above  account  you  can  see  how  one 
day's  experience  in  New  York  impressed  the  girl 
of  the  Mountain  Ranges  in  the- West. 

Polly,  accustomed  as  she  was  to  the  overstocked 
store  in  Oak  Creek,  where  shelves  were  stacked 
high  with  all  sorts  of  merchandise,  opened  her  eyes 
as  Anne  led  her  into  a  quiet  parlor-like  room  that 
opened  directly  from  Fifth  avenue.  She  stared 
around  for  a  glimpse  of  the  gowns  she  expected 
to  see;  but  nothing  like  one  was  to  be  seen.  The 
dignified  lady  who  met  Anne,  and  a  few  other  well- 
dressed  women  who  conversed  in  low  tones  with 
each  other,  did  not  look  like  Polly's  idea  of  shop- 
girls. 


IN  THE  BIG  CITY  9 

Anne's  lady  conducted  them  to  a  lift,  and  they 
shot  up  two  stories.  Again  they  came  out  into  a 
lovely  lounging-room,  but  still  no  sign  of  dresses. 
The  lady  pushed  a  button,  and  another  woman 
hurried  in. 

"Measurements  of  this  young  lady.  She  will 
need  several  gowns  for  afternoon  and  street  wear; 
possibly,  an  evening  dress." 

Then  Polly  was  scientifically  measured,  and  in 
a  short  time  a  number  of  models  were  brought  for 
her  inspection  and  approval.  These  were  placed 
upon  forms,  and  every  desirable  detail  of  the 
gowns  was  pointed  out  to  Anne  and  the  girls. 

"Oh,  I  just  love  that  one,  Poll!"  cried  Eleanor, 
gazing  with  rapt  eyes  at  an  imported  model. 

"Isn't  it  clumsy  at  the  back?  And  see  how  nar- 
row the  bottom  of  the  skirt  is.  Maybe* they  didn't 
have  enough  goods  to  make  it  any  wider?"  com- 
mented Polly. 

Eleanor  giggled  but  Anne  explained  to  Polly. 
The  saleslady  seemed  not  to  have  heard  the  west- 
ern girl's  objection  to  the  gown. 

Then  it  was  tried  on  Polly,  and  she  saw  how 
very  becoming  it  was.  But  when  she  endeavored 
to  walk  over  to  the  full-length  mirror,  she  almost 
fell  down  upon  the  rug. 

"Mercy,  Anne !    I  never  can  amble  about  in  this 


io  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

binder!  Get  me  something  sensible,"  complained 
Polly. 

But  Eleanor  liked  the  dress  and  as  it  fitted  her, 
also,  she  said  she  would  take  it  as  long  as  Polly 
didn't. 

"Take  it  and  welcome,  Nolla!  but  I  pity  you 
if  you  try  to  scoot  over  the  crossings  of  Fifth  ave- 
nue in  that  skirt,"  laughed  Polly. 

Other  gowns  were  brought  and  Polly  finally 
found  several  that  she  liked,  with  wide  enough 
skirts  to  suit  her  comfort.  Then  Anne  asked  for 
the  bills.  The  list  was  added  up  and  when  the 
total  was  mentioned  Polly  almost  fainted.  If  she 
had  not  been  seated,  she  might  have  crumpled  to 
the  floor. 

"We'll  take  that  gown  with  us,  the  others  you 
may  send,"  said  Anne,  taking  up  the  one  to  be 
wrapped.  Then  she  gave  the  name  and  address 
where  the  other  dresses  were  to  be  sent.  A  fat 
roll  of  yellow  bills  now  came  from  Anne's  hand- 
bag, and  she  paid  the  enormous  sum — or,  at  least, 
Polly  thought  it  was  enormous  for  so  few  dresses. 

Safely  out  of  hearing  of  the  fashionable  sales- 
ladies, Polly  whispered:  "Anne,  you  paid  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  for  those  things !" 

Anne  nodded,  smilingly.  Eleanor  said:  "Why, 
that  wasn't  much  for  what  we  got,  Poll.  The  dress 


IN  THE  BIG  CITY  n 

I  bought  is  imported!  And  a  model,  at  that.  It 
was  a  bargain  at  that  price." 

Polly  sighed.  Would  she  ever  be  able  to  ac- 
commodate herself  to  such  a  changed  life  as  this 
one  now  seemed  to  be?  Her  friends  laughed  at 
the  sigh  and  expression  of  doubt  on  her  face. 

As  Anne  led  her  protegees  past  the  hotel  desk, 
a  very  polite  clerk  said:  "A  'phone  call  for  you, 
Miss  Stewart,  at  five-ten  P.  M." 

Anne  was  handed  the  slip  and  read:  "Mr. 
Latimer  called  up.  Said  he  would  call  again  at 
six-thirty." 

"Maybe  he  wants  us  to  go  somewhere,  to- 
night !"  suggested  Eleanor,  eagerly. 

"Well,  you  won't  go  to-night,  if  he  does  ask 
you.  It's  bed  at  nine,  for  everyone  of  us,  because 
we  have  a  hard  day  of  house-hunting  before  us, 
to-morrow,"  decreed  Anne,  courageously. 

But  Eleanor  was  given  no  cause  to  argue  that 
evening,  for  Mr.  Latimer  called  up  to  invite  them 
all  to  go  to  the  Mardi  Gras  at  Coney  Island  the 
following  evening.  He  said  the  Evans  and  Lati- 
mers  would  call  at  the  hotel,  in  two  cars,  about  six 
o'clock  and  take  them  to  supper  at  the  Island. 

"Oh,  goody  1  I  never  saw  Coney  Island  but  I've 
heard  so  much  about  it!"  cried  Eleanor,  dancing 
about  the  room. 


12  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"I  have  read  haw  dreadful  a  place  it  is,"  ven- 
tured Polly. 

"That's  another  point  of  view,  Polly.  If  you 
go  down  there  to  enjoy  the  fun  and  games,  and 
;  see  the  ocean,  then  you  will  have  nothing  but  frolic 
and  sea.  But  if  one  is  in  quest  of  crime,  then  it 
can  be  found  festering  there,  just  as  it  is  in  every 
other  section  of  a  large  city,"  explained  Anne. 

"But  we  are  only  going  for  a  frolic,"  added 
Eleanor. 

"I  should  hope  so!"  Polly  said,  so  fervently, 
that  Anne  had  to  laugh  heartily. 

After  dinner  that  night,  Anne  said:  "I  think 
[Polly  ought  to  see  a  sight  that  no  other  city  can 
offer — that  is  the  wondrous  advertising  signs  on 
Broadway  about  Times  Square,  at  night." 

"I  am  too  weary  to  go  out,  daughter,  but  you 
take  the  girls,"  Mrs.  Stewart  remarked,  so  they 
hurriedly  donned  their  hats  and  gloves. 

When  they  reached  the  famous  corner  of 
Forty-second  street  and  Broadway,  and  stood  at 
the  uptown  side  of  Times  Square  Triangle  to  look 
at  the  lights,  Polly  was  speechless. 

"Why,  it's  as  bright  as  day,  everywhere,"  whis- 
pered she. 

"And  just  see  the  moving  ads.  up  on  the  roofs !" 
cried  Eleanor,  delighting  in  the  scene. 


IN  THE  BIG  CITY  13 

"I  thought  there  were  hordes  of  mad  folks  on 
the  streets  this  afternoon,  but  this  beats  every- 
thing!" exclaimed  Polly,  watching  both  sides  of 
Broadway  from  her  vantage  ground.  "Honestly, 
Anne,  do  they  not  act  obsessed,  jostling  and  rush- 
ing as  if  Death  drove  them?  They  never  seem 
to  mind  trolleys,  autos,  or  policemen.  They  swirl 
and  fly  every  which  way,  regardless  of  everyone 
and  everything. 

"I  just  love  this  excitement!"  sighed  Eleanor, 
smiling. 

"Well,  I  hope  to  goodness  we  will  live  far 
enough  away  from  all  this  to  let  me  forget  it  once 
in  a  while,"  said  Polly. 

"Oh,  you'll  love  it,  too,  pretty  soon,"  Eleanor 
said,  confidently. 

"Never!  This  is  Bedlam  to  me.  When  I  write 
home  about  it,  I  shall  tell  father  that  it  reminds 
me  of  the  story  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  when 
fire  and  brimstone  fell  and  destroyed  those  cities. 
I  bet  the  folks  never  acted  any  wilder,  there,  than 
these  New  Yorkers  do,  here." 

Anne  laughed  at  Polly's  vivid  disgust,  and  sug- 
gested that  they  return  to  the  hotel. 

"Oh,  no,  Anne!  It  is  only  eight-thirty.  And 
for  New  York  that  only  begins  an  evening,  you 
know.  Let's  get  up  on  top  of  one  of  the  buses  on 


i4  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Fifth  avenue  and  take  the  round  trip.  That  ride 
will  show  Polly  lots  of  sights :  the  Flat  Iron  Build- 
ing, Riverside  Drive  and  the  Hudson,  and  heaps 
of  things." 

Eleanor  prevailed,  and  after  a  delightful  drive 
of  an  hour,  the  little  party  was  glad  to  get  to  the 
hotel  and  drop  into  bed. 


CHAPTER  II 

HOUSE  HUNTING  IN  NEW  YORK 

BEFORE  the  westerners  awake  to  the  new  day, 
let  us  renew  our  acquaintance  with  them. 

Polly  Brewster,  of  Pebbly  Pit,  born  and  reared 
on  that  wonderful  ranch  in  Colorado  where  the 
lava-jewels  were  found,  is  for  the  first  time  in  her 
fourteen  years,  away  from  home.  As  she  is  at  the 
most  impressionable  age,  her  wise  mother  author- 
ized Anne  Stewart,  the  young  teacher  who  had 
spent  the  summer  with  the  Brewsters  and  who  was 
engaged  to  John  Brewster,  to  spare  no  money 
when  fitting  Polly  out  for  her  life  in  New  York. 
Mrs.  Brewster  wished  Polly  to  feel  herself  the 
equal  of  anyone  she  met,  if  it  pertained  to  dress. 
And  style  was  about  the  only  thing  that  Polly 
lacked,  having  all  fine  qualities  in  her  character. 

Eleanor  Maynard,  of  Chicago,  now  Polly's 
dearest  friend,  never  had  to  count  the  cost  of  any- 
thing, as  her  father  was  the  best  known  and  richest 
banker  of  that  great  city.  But  because  of  her  ill 
health,  being  a  protegee  of  Anne  Stewart  for  the 

is 


16  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

past  two  years,  this  association  had  taught  Eleanor 
to  think  twice  before  she  wasted  her  allowance. 

And  Anne  Stewart,  just  past  twenty-one,  was 
experienced  for  her  age,  because  of  her  mother's 
dependence  on  her  for  most  things,  since  the 
father  died  many  years  before  this  story  opens. 
And  Paul,  her  younger  brother  now  at  college  in 
Chicago  (where  the  other  boys  also  studied),  was 
there  because  his  sister  earned  the  money  with 
which  to  pay  his  expenses.  Now  that  Anne 
would  participate  in  the  shares  of  the  gold  mine 
that  had  been  discovered  the  day  of  the  escape  on 
Grizzly  Slide,  the  Stewarts  had  no  need  to  practise 
such  strict  economy  as  hitherto. 

In  the  morning  Polly  was  awakened  by  a  knock 
at  her  door.  "Poll,  someone  wants  to  speak  to 
you  over  the  'phone,"  said  Anne. 

"Me?  Why,  who  can  it  be?  I  never  talked 
into  one  of  those  funny  little  black  horns  in  my 
life,  Anne.  Wait,  and  help  me." 

In  another  moment  Polly,  in  a  pretty  negligee — 
one  of  the  purchases  of  the  previous  afternoon — 
ran  out  of  her  room.  Anne  sat  her  upon  a  stool 
before  the  small  stand  and  showed  her  how  to  hold 
the  instrument. 

"Hello!"  whispered  Polly,  half  afraid  that 
something  would  pop  out  at  her. 


HOUSE  HUNTING  17 

Eleanor  had  crept  out  of  her  room  by  this  time, 
and  stood  back  of  Polly,  grinning  at  her  friend's 
nervousness. 

"Speak  louder,"  admonished  Anne  in  Polly's 
ear. 

"Hello!"  shouted  Polly,  trying  to  adjust  her 
senses  to  the  unfamiliar  method  of  conversing  with 
an  unseen  individual. 

Then  a  merry  laugh  and  a  familiar  voice 
sounded  in  her  ear.  Her  face  expressed  amaze- 
ment, then  pleased  surprise,  and  then  excitement. 
She  glanced  up  at  Eleanor  as  the  voice  continued 
speaking. 

"Oh,  we're  so  glad  to  hear  you  are  in  the  city. 
Now  we  shall  have  lovely  times!"  exclaimed 
Polly,  finally. 

A  joyous  boy's  voice  continued  talking  but  sud- 
denly it  ceased,  and  Polly  looked  at  Anne  for  an 
explanation.  The  telephone  receiver  began  click- 
ing strangely  in  her  ear,  and  she  held  it  at  arm's 
length  in  fear  of  what  might  be  going  to  explode 
inside  that  queer  tube. 

Eleanor  laughed  and  said,  "Let  me  do  the  talk- 
ing— it  sounds  like  Jim  Latimer — is  it?" 

"Yes,  Ken  and  he  landed  from  the  West  at  mid- 
night, and  they  are  going  to  the  Mardi  Gras  with 
us  to-night." 


1 8  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Eleanor  now  took  the  telephone,  and  by  the 
time  the  operator  managed  to  connect  the  inter- 
rupted wires,  she  was  ready  to  chat  as  if  she  had 
nothing  else  to  do.  After  ten  minutes  of  silly  boy 
and  girl  talk,  Anne  whispered:  "Oh,  do  stop, 
Nolla !  It  is  eight  o'clock  and  we  want  to  fill  a 
good  day  with  work." 

"I've  got  to  ring  off,  now,  Jim,  but  we'll  see  you 
to-night.  Good-by !"  Then  Eleanor  turned  to  her 
companions,  and  said: 

"Well,  that's  good  news,  Polly!  To  have  the 
boys  in  the  city  to  show  us  a  good  time  before  we 
start  school." 

Without  saying  anything  to  cause  the  girls  to 
object  because  this  "good  time"  with  the  boys 
might  be  indefinitely  postponed,  Anne  made  up  her 
mind  that  a  home  would  and  must  be  secured 
before  anyone  planned  for  pleasure  or  fun. 

That  day,  they  sought  in  buildings  on  every 
block  uptown  that  had  been  left  uninspected  by 
Mrs.  Latimer  and  Mrs.  Evans,  but  with  no  suc- 
cess. If  an  apartment  of  five  to  seven  rooms  was 
found,  it  would  be  found  to  be  dark,  dirty,  or  in 
an  objectionable  neighborhood.  They  were  ready 
to  pay  a  high  rent  for  six  or  seven  rooms,  but 
nothing  suitable  could  be  found. 

When  they  returned  to  the  hotel,  at  five  o'clock, 


HOUSE  HUNTING  19 

to  wash  and  dress  for  the  outing  that  evening, 
everyone  felt  discouraged.  "And  these  poor  de- 
luded New  Yorkers  call  the  band-boxes  we  saw 
to-day,  apartment  rooms?"  said  Polly,  sneering 
at  the  homes  but  not  at  the  poor  inmates. 

"Owners  dare  not  build  the  rooms  larger,  Polly, 
because  real  estate  in  this  city  is  so  valuable  and 
taxable.  Every  inch  of  property  has  to  be  made 
the  most  of.  You  know,  that  is  why  a  builder,  in 
large  cities,  runs  his  structures  up  in  the  sky — the 
sky  doesn't  charge  taxes  on  so  much  per  foot,  but 
the  ground  the  building  stands  on  does." 

"Oh,  I  never  thought  of  that!  So  that  is  why 
New  York  houses  go  up  twenty  and  thirty  stories, 
eh?  The  owner  has  to  get  his  rents  out  of  the 
air  and  sky,  and  pay  it  over  to  the  land-assessor," 
Polly  exclaimed,  in  a  tone  of  understanding. 

Her  friends  laughed.  "You  are  an  apt  pupil, 
Poll,"  said  Anne. 

When  their  hosts  for  the  evening  called  for 
Anne  and  her  party,  they  were  all  ready  and  eager 
to  start.  So  they  were  soon  seated  in  the  two  cars ; 
Jim  driving  one,  with  Polly  seated  beside  him,  and 
Ken,  Eleanor  and  Anne  in  the  back  seat.  Mrs. 
Stewart  was  welcomed  with  the  two  ladies  and  the 
two  men  in  the  other  car. 

"Now,  Jim,"  called  Mr.  Latimer,  "you  be  sure 


20  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

and  trail  me.  I'll  go  first,  as  I  know  every  foot  of 
the  road  to  Coney  Island." 

Polly  had  never  been  in  an  automobile  before, 
and  at  first  she  felt  frightened;  but  Jim  chatted  as 
he  drove,  and  seemed  to  take  it  all  so  naturally, 
ihat  she  soon  overcame  the  desire  to  clutch  hold 
pn  the  side  of  the  car. 

There  were  hundreds  of  other  automobiles  all 
going  in  the  same  direction,  and  when  our  two  cars 
reached  the  Boulevard,  there  was  such  a  gay 
Stream  of  machines  and  people  as  the  girls  never 
dreamed  of  before.  Confetti,  paper  ribbons, 
horns  and  whatnot,  were  used  by  the  passengers  on 
trolleys  and  in  automobiles  along  the  road  until 
the  lighted  spires  of  The  Park,  and  other  plea- 
sure-giving resorts  of  Coney  Island  were  seen. 

Polly  looked  so  different  in  her  smart  clothes 
that  Jim  Latimer  wondered  what  had  happened 
to  turn  this  pretty  ranch  girl  into  such  a  stunning 
city  girl  in  so  short  a  time. 

He  kept  glancing  at  her  oval  face,  rounded  with 
health  and  vigor;  at  her  straight  little  nose,  her 
wide-open,  deep,  soulful  eyes  that  seemed  to  weigh 
all  things  wisely;  the  heavy  wavy  hair  that  was 
becomingly  looped  back  from  her  face,  and  above 
all,  the  rich  glow  in  her  cheeks,  and  the  creamy 


HOUSE  HUNTING  21 

complexion  and  fine  texture  of  her  skin.     "Noth* 
ing  made-up  there!"  thought  Jim. 

But  Polly  was  happily  unaware  of  Jim's  won- 
dering approval,  for  she  was  too  completely  ab- 
sorbed in  the  sights  about  her.  She  could  not  have 
told  anyone  what  Jim  looked  like  in  his  city 
clothes.  In  fact,  after  the  first  hasty  glance  at 
Ken  and  him,  and  the  realization  that  they  had 
doffed  their  mountain  outfits,  she  gave  no  second 
thought  to  their  clothes. 

At  Coney  Island,  that  night,  the  girls  enjoyed 
one  continual  lark.  Even  Mrs.  Stewart  was  urged 
to  go  with  the  elder  Latimers  and  the  Evans  upon 
the  chutes,  the  merry-go-rounds,  the  Twister,  the 
Winsome  Waves,  and  whatnot.  Such  a  reckless 
spirit  of  fun  seemed  to  possess  everyone  in  the 
place,  that  it  was  contagious. 

When  the  evening  was  almost  over,  and  Polly 
sighed  with  very  surfeit  of  so  much  fun,  the  boys 
managed  to  "lose"  the  elders  and  took  the  two 
girls  to  the  beach. 

"Oh,  how  wonderful!  I  never  thought  of  the 
ocean.  There  was  so  much  to  see  and  to  do  that  I 
forgot  Coney  Island  was  right  on  the  sea,"  ex- 
claimed Eleanor. 

But  Polly  said  not  a  word.     She  was  suddenly 


22  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

confronted  with  the  restless  mighty  ocean  that  she 
had  always  longed  to  see.  The  sense  of  frivolity 
that  had  filled  her  for  the  last  few  hours  vanished, 
and  she  gave  herself  up  to  the  power  of  that  calm, 
never-ceasing  roll  of  water.  A  few  minutes  before 
and  she  had  been  weary  from  so  much  laughter 
and  sport,  but  now  a  wonderful  peace  and  rest 
pervaded  her  being. 

The  boys  understood  this  unusual  effect  of  the 
ocean  upon  one  who  had  never  seen  anything  like 
it,  and  finally  Polly  heaved  a  sigh. 

"Well,  this  is  better  than  all  else.  It's  worth 
coming  so  far  east  to  see.  It's  the  only  decent 
thing  of  which  New  York  can  boast." 

Her  companions  laughed;  after  digging  in  the 
soft  sand  for  a  short  time,  and  exchanging  youth- 
ful view-points  about  everything  in  the  universe, 
they  all  sauntered  back  to  the  place  where  the  two 
cars  had  been  parked. 

A  shout  greeted  them.  "There,  I  knew  you 
boys  had  dodged  us  on  purpose.  But  Miss  Stewart 
thought  you  were  lost  in  this  crowd." 

As  everyone  felt  tired  before  the  cars  reached 
New  York  City  again,  the  conversation  was  inter- 
mittent. But  just  before  Mr.  Latimer  drove  his 
car  up  to  the  hotel,  Mrs.  Stewart  learned  how  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Evans,  Mrs.  Latimer,  and  the  two  boys, 


HOUSE  HUNTING  23 

Jim  and  Ken,  had  spent  that  entire  day  home- 
hunting  for  the  westerners  with  no  success. 

"It  seems  very  strange  that  in  such  a  vast  city 
one  is  not  able  to  find  a  decent  apartment,"  com- 
plained Mrs.  Stewart. 

"We  are  told  'because  of  the  war.'  The  war  is 
blamed  for  everything  these  days,  but  the  real  ex- 
cuse for  owners  not  building  now  is  because  of  the 
high  cost  of  material  and  labor.  They  are  all 
waiting  for  better  times;  meantime  people  must 
take  what  can  be  had,  or  go  without,"  said  Mr. 
Latimer. 

"After  hunting  the  way  we  have  for  more  than 
a  week,  and  not  having  found  a  suitable  place, 
Mrs.  Stewart,  I  would  suggest  your  finding  a  nice 
boarding-house  for  the  winter.  If  you  put  it  off 
too  long,  even  those  places  will  be  filled,"  advised 
Mrs.  Latimer. 

"Dear  me!"  sighed  Mrs.  Stewart.  "That  was 
suggested  this  morning,  but  I  said  it  seemed  dread- 
ful, when  I  came  East  just  to  make  a  home  and 
keep  house  for  the  three  girls." 

"Yes,  it  would  be  much  pleasanter  for  everyone 
to  have  a  home,  but  in  cases  like  this  Fall's  short- 
age of  apartments,  one  must  do  what  is  most  expe- 
dient," returned  Mrs.  Latimer. 

Mrs.  Stewart  told  the  girls,  that  night,  what 


24  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

had  been  said,  but  they  all  felt  sure  something 
must  turn  up  in  the  next  day  or  two.  So  the  next 
morning  before  starting  out,  they  laid  out  a  regu- 
lar plan  of  work. 

"Mother  and  Eleanor  will  start  where  we  left 
off,  yesterday,  and  weave  a  search  back  and  forth 
downtown  until  they  reach  the  hotel.  I  will  take 
Polly  and,  beginning  at  Washington  Square,  work 
uptown  until  we  finish.  If  either  of  us  find  any- 
thing at  all  decent,  and  in  an  agreeable  neighbor- 
hood, pay  down  a  deposit  to  hold  it  and  be  sure 
to  get  a  receipt  as  a  binder — Mr.  Latimer  told  me 
that  much.  Then  we  will  all  go  for  the  second 
inspection  and  decide.  Dr.  Evans  said  we'd  better 
pay  down  several  deposits  rather  than  lose  a  place, 
as  we  can  quickly  sell  out  any  option  we  have  for 
more  than  we  paid  down." 

Having  instructed  her  friends,  Anne  added  one 
last  bit  of  advice :  "We  will  go  as  high  as  $3,000 
a  year  for  seven  rooms,  or  $1,500  for  four  to  five 
rooms — no  more,  as  that  is  all  shelter  is  worth.  If 
we  can't  find  a  place  at  that  price,  we'll  stay  in  a 
hotel!" 

So  the  second  day  of  house-hunting  went  for- 
ward by  two  divisions  instead  of  one,  and  all  that 
day  Mrs.  Stewart  and  Eleanor  experienced  the 
same  snubs,  weariness,  and  failures,  as  thou- 


HOUSE  HUNTING  25 

sands  of  other  home-hunters  in  New  York  had. 
And  at  evening  they  returned  wearily  to  the  hotel 
to  hear  what  Anne  had  accomplished. 

"Polly  and  she  have  not  yet  arrived,"  announced 
Eleanor,  as  Mrs.  Stewart  and  she  entered  their 
suite. 

"I  hope  she  has  had  better  luck  than  we  can  brag 
about,"  added  Mrs.  Stewart,  dropping  into  an 
easy  chair. 

A  long  time  after  the  "first  division"  had  re- 
turned, baffled,  to  the  hotel,  Anne  and  Polly  burst 
into  the  room  with  happy  faces. 

"Oh,  we  just  found  the  most  wonderful  place  1 
Polly  and  I  actually  discovered  it.  We  were  giv- 
ing up  all  hope  of  ever  finding  a  decent  apartment 
at  any  reasonable  figure,  and  had  started  for  the 
subway  when  we  saw  this  one.  The  flower-boxes 
caught  Polly's  eye,  so  we  are  really  indebted  to  her 
for  having  secured  our  home." 

Anne's  enthusiasm  was  contagious,  and  instantly 
Mrs.  Stewart  and  Eleanor  wanted  to  know  where 
it  was  located. 

Anne  and  Polly  exchanged  smiling  glances,  as 
if  the  secret  was  too  precious  to  impart  to  others. 

"I  suppose  you  two  did  up  the  entire  upper  sec- 
tions, to-day,  eh?"  asked  Anne,  countering  their 
eager  queries. 


26  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Did  we?  I  should  say  we  did!  I  got  a  taxi 
for  the  day  and  we  flew  from  one  pile  of  stone  and 
marble  to  the  next,  and  so  many  rides  up  and  down 
in  gorgeous  elevators  all  day  has  kept  my  head 
still  spinning.  But  we  had  the  same  results  as 
yesterday.  When  you  inspect  one  of  these  modern 
honey-combs  you  see  them  all.  The  only  differ- 
ence being  that  a  few  owners  manage  to  retain  the 
elevator  and  telephone  operators,  while  the  ma- 
jority of  superintendents  apologise  by  saying,  'My 
help  went  on  a  strike,  to-day.' 

"It  really  looks,  Anne,  as  if  these  poor  New 
Yorkers  will  have  to  move  out  to  the  country  if 
they  want  to  live  this  year,"  remarked  Mrs.  Stew- 
art, earnestly. 

Her  companions  laughed  and  Anne  said: 
"Mother,  you  are  too  precocious.  But  now  listen 
to  our  'find' ! 

"As  I  planned,  you  two  went  up-town  while 
Polly  and  I  went  down-town  from  here.  We  cov- 
ered all  the  lower  sections  by  criss-crossing  back 
and  forth,  but  we  came  away  from  the  Gramercy 
Park  section,  late  this  afternoon,  with  an  utter 
sense  of  failure.  In  fact,  I  was  silently  planning 
to  inquire  about  good  boarding-houses,  when  we 
hailed  a  Lexington  avenue  car,  going  north. 

"Being  woolly  westerners,  we  failed  to  ascertain 


HOUSE  HUNTING  27 

how  far  northwards  the  car  went,  and  having  paid 
our  fares,  sat  down.  I  remember  turning  to  Polly 
and  saying,  'This  is  actually  the  first  car  in  New 
York  that  I  have  been  on  that  wasn't  crowded  to 
the  platforms.'  " 

Polly  laughed  at  the  remembrance,  and  Anne 
smiled.  "But  it  was  our  salvation,  Anne,"  ven- 
tured the  former. 

Anne  nodded  and  continued  her  story.  "Then 
we  soon  learned  why  there  were  vacant  seats  on 
that  car.  A  pleasant-faced,  grey-haired  man  of 
about  fifty,  must  have  overheard  my  comment  be- 
cause he  spoke  to  us  after  we  were  seated. 

'  'Perhaps  you  did  not  know  that  this  car  goes 
no  farther  north  than  the  next  block?  It  is 
switched  back  downtown,  from  that  point.  Did 
not  the  conductor  mention  it  to  you?' 

"I  was  furious,  and  I  replied:  'No!  he  never 
said  a  word  when  I  paid  the  fares.' 

"By  this  time  the  car  stopped  and  the  conductor 
called  out :  'All  out — dis  car  goes  no  furder.  We 
switch  back  next  corner !' 

"So  Polly  and  I  had  to  get  off  with  the  others. 
When  we  stepped  down  from  the  car,  the  nice  man 
lifted  his  hat  to  us  and  said:  'I  judge  you  are 
strangers  in  the  city.  Can  I  direct  you  anywhere?' 

"I  thanked  him  and  told  him  we  were  only  go- 


28  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

ing  as  far  as  Forty-second  street  to  the  hotel.  Then 
I  added,  sarcastically :  'But  there  may  be  no  cars 
which  run  as  far  north  as  that  street !' 

"He  laughed  and  said:  'You  had  better  walk 
over  to  Fourth  avenue  and  get  the  car  there.  It 
takes  you  through  the  tunnel  much  quicker  than 
the  Lexington  avenue  car  runs  to  Forty-second 
street.  But  be  careful  and  do  not  board  a  car  that 
stops  at  the  car-house  on  Thirty-second  street.' 

"We  all  laughed  at  that,  as  it  would  have  been 
just  like  me  to  do  so;  then  we  thanked  him  and 
started  along  Thirty-first  street  to  reach  the  car. 
And  there  we  found  our  Haven  of  Hope !" 

"Where?  Not  on  Thirty-first  street,  I  trust!" 
exclaimed  Mrs.  Stewart.  "Isn't  that  section  of  the 
city  dreadful?" 

"Not  the  block  where  we  found  a  home,"  ex- 
plained Anne.  "It  has  several  remodeled  houses 
and  several  other  flat  houses  on  it." 

"But  just  wait  until  you  see  our  house — it's 
fine !"  said  Polly,  eagerly. 

"Polly  caught  hold  of  my  arm  and  exclaimed: 
'Oh,  Anne!  see  the  lovely  flower-boxes  in  that 
cute  little  house!' 

"I  saw  three  narrow  windows  on  the  second 
floor  with  green  flower-boxes  on  the  outside  sills, 
but  then  my  eyes  dropped  lower  and  I  spied  a 


HOUSE  HUNTING  29 

swinging  sign  at  a  side-door.  It  merely  said :  'To 
Let'  inquire,  etc.  Polly  saw  it  at  the  same  moment, 
so  we  stood  and  gazed  at  each  other. 

"  'Let's  try  and  peep  in  at  this  window,'  sug- 
gested Polly. 

"I  agreed,  and  we  did  our  best  to  see  what  was 
within;  but  the  long  iron-lattice  that  covered  the 
four  slits  in  the  wide  front  doors,  were  covered 
from  the  inside.  So  we  went  to  hunt  up  the  agent. 

"His  office  was  only  a  few  blocks  down  Fourth 
avenue,  so  Polly  and  I  hurried  there  before  it 
should  be  closed  for  the  day.  A  boy  was  told  to 
accompany  us  and  we  were  soon  inspecting  the 
premises.  Our  escort  offered  all  the  information 
he  had  heard  in  the  real  estate  office. 

"  'This  hain't  been  on  our  books  more'n  a  day. 
I  just  hung  out  the  sign  this  morning.  The  last 
man  what  lived  here  was  an  artist  and  he  fixed  up 
everything  like  you  see  it  now.  But  he  wanted  the 
owner  to  take  out  the  stable  doors  and  put  in  a 
studio-winder,  and  when  the  owner  wouldn't  spend 
a  cent,  the  artist  up  and  moved.  My  boss  said  the 
next  tenant  would  insist  on  having  the  doors  taken 
out,  so  you  might  as  well  kick  about  them  being 
here,  and  see  if  you'se  kin  get  the  winder  in.'  ' 

Anne's  mimicry  of  the  office-boy  was  perfect  and 
her  hearers  laughed,  but  Mrs.  Stewart  had  caught 


30  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

the  significant  words:  "Stable  doors,"  and  now 
she  looked  deeply  concerned.  Anne  hastened  to 
end  her  narrative  when  she  saw  her  mother's 
expression. 

"So  Polly  and  I  went  back  to  the  agents,  heard 
the  price  of  the  place,  and  paid  down  half  a 
month's  rent  to  hold  it  until  you  all  can  go  with  us 
to-morrow  morning  to  approve  of  our  selection." 

"Oh,  Anne!  how  much  was  it  a  month?"  ex- 
claimed Eleanor,  eagerly,  while  Mrs.  Stewart 
looked  dubious  over  such  recklessness. 

"One-fifty  a  month,  and  we  can  have  a  straight 
lease — no  humbugging  about  clauses." 

"And  how  many  rooms,  did  you  say,  dear?" 
gasped  Mrs.  Stewart. 

"I  didn't  say,  mother,  and  I  told  Poll  not  to  say 
more  until  after  you  see  it  in  the  morning." 

"But  I  like  it,  and  it  really  does  seem  as  if 
Providence  sent  us  through  that  street,"  added 
Polly,  sighing  with  content. 

"Eleanor,  did  you  hear  Anne  say  it  had  stable- 
doors?"  now  ventured  Mrs.  Stewart,  fearfully. 

"No!  did  you,  Anne?  Why  would  it  have 
stable-doors?" 

"Because  in  the  days  of  horses  and  carnages,  it 
was  some  rich  man's  private  stable,"  laughed 
Anne,  enjoying  the  horror  on  her  mother's  face. 


HOUSE  HUNTING  31 

"A  stable!  Ha,  ha,  ha — for  a  Maynard  of 
Chicago!  Oh — ha,  ha,  ha!"  laughed  Eleanor, 
rocking  back  and  forth. 

Even  Mrs.  Stewart  had  to  laugh  at  the  picture 
Eleanor's  exclamation  suggested — Mrs.  Maynard 
and  Barbara  calling  upon  a  member  of  their  family 
who  was  living  in  an  East  Side  stable ! 

Any  doubt  of  this  being  just  the  place  they 
wanted  vanished  in  the  morning  when  Anne  and 
Polly  proudly  escorted  Mrs.  Stewart  and  Eleanor 
about  their  future  domicile.  True,  it  had  all  the 
ear-marks  of  a  stable  from  the  outside,  but  once 
you  were  within,  there  was  only  an  artistic  home 
to  be  seen.  The  ground-floor  which  had  once  held 
four  stalls  and  a  harness-room,  with  space  for 
two  carriages,  was  now  partitioned  off  in  a  man- 
ner that  made  the  most  of  the  space.  A  large 
living-room  across  the  front  acted  as  entrance-hall 
and  passageway  to  the  rear  rooms  and  second 
floor.  In  the  corner  of  the  living-room,  where 
the  small  brick  chimney  had  served  as  smoke-vent 
for  the  stove  of  former  days,  there  now  was  a 
wide  tiled  fire-place  which  would  hold  great  logs. 

Double  glass-paneled  doors  led  from  the  front 
room  to  the  dining-room  with  its  two  high-set 
square  windows  opening  to  the  sunlight  in  the 
rear.  Also  a  single  door  went  to  the  kitchen, 


32  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

which  also  had  two  high  windows  like  those  in 
the  adjoining  room.  From  the  kitchen,  a  back 
door  opened  upon  a  tiny  grass-platted  garden  of 
about  twenty  feet  square.  A  fine  locust  tree  grew 
in  one  corner  of  the  plot  and  gave  shade  in  the' 
afternoon. 

Anne  explained  certain  peculiar  features  re- 
garding the  windows  of  the  back-rooms.  "Don't 
you  see  why  they  are  so  high?  It  is  because  they 
were  once  the  ventilators  to  the  stalls.  Each  horse 
had  his  own  window  for  air.  But  I  think  they  now 
make  the  rooms  look  quaint,  don't  you?" 

The  others  agreed  with  her,  and  Eleanor  said: 
"If  we  had  a  shelf  running  along  under  the  win- 
dows, it  would  look  better." 

"And  we  can  use  it  for  china,"  added  Polly. 

Anne  now  started  to  go  upstairs,  followed  by 
the  other  three;  they  all  examined  the  bed- 
rooms and  were  delighted  with  them.  There  were 
two  large  front  and  two  smaller  rear  rooms,  with 
a  fine  tiled  bathroom  between  the  back  rooms.  Not 
one  of  the  rooms  was  as  small  as  the  largest 
chambers  seen  in  the  modern  apartments. 

"And  all  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  a  month!"  ex- 
claimed Eleanor,  joyously. 

"I  reckon  we'd  better  take  it  at  once,  children," 
said  Mrs.  Stewart,  approvingly. 


HOUSE  HUNTING  33 

"But  remember,"  said  Anne,  on  the  way  to  the 
agent's  office,  "we  have  to  make  all  inside  repairs, 
or  redecorate  as  we  want.  There  is  no  steam  heat 
or  hot  water  supplied,  either,  like  the  swell  apart- 
ment houses,  uptown,  offer  us." 

"I'd  rather  have  it  so,  Anne  dear,"  replied  Mrs. 
Stewart.  "I've  always  been  used  to  a  coal  range 
and  those  fandangled  gas  ideas  worried  me,  but  I 
didn't  say  anything  to  you-all.  I  noticed  what  a 
fine  little  kitchen  stove  this  one  has,  so  you'll 
always  have  hot  water — never  fear.  As  for  heat ! 
Well,  a  great  open  fire-place  in  the  front  room 
will  help  heat  upstairs,  and  there  is  a  register  in 
the  bathroom  that  comes  from  the  kitchen  stove- 
pipe." 

"We  can  use  electric  or  gas  radiators,  Anne," 
added  Eleanor,  eagerly,  "in  very  cold  weather." 

"I  never  knew  what  heated  bedrooms  were  like, 
in  Pebbly  Pit,  Anne,"  Polly  said,  anxious  to  have 
a  word. 

"Besides  we  may  have  a  very  mild  winter,"  re- 
marked Anne. 

So  the  lease  was  signed  and  the  first  month's 
rent  paid.  "We'll  give  you  any  assistance  you 
may  need  in  getting  the  place  in  order,  Mrs.  Stew- 
art," said  the  agent,  as  he  handed  the  papers  to 
his  new  tenant. 


34  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"That  will  be  very  nice,  and  we  will  take  ad- 
vantage of  your  offer,  at  once.  I  want  the  kitchen 
range  and  stove  pipe  put  in  perfect  working  order, 
and  please  see  that  the  radiator  in  the  bathroom 
is  not  obstructed  in  any  way,"  said  the  lady. 

Anne  and  the  agent  exchanged  looks  and 
laughed.  "I  can  see  where  Mrs.  Stewart  expects 
to  enjoy  herself  this  winter.  Well,  I  told  my  wife 
the  other  day,  we  were  more  comfortable  when 
we  had  an  old-fashioned  flat  with  a  kitchen  range, 
than  we  now  are  with  all  the  latest  modern  im- 
provements," returned  the  agent. 

"Anne,  Polly  and  I  want  our  rooms  repapered 
and  painted,"  whispered  Eleanor,  tugging  at 
Anne's  sleeve. 

"I  was  about  to  suggest  that  you  have  all  the 
woodwork  given  one  coat  of  nice  fresh  paint,  but 
the  paper  now  on  the  walls  is  very  expensive  and 
artistic,  so  I  wouldn't  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  to 
have  it  done  over.  The  last  tenant  imported  his 
own  paper  at  a  great  expense  for  that  place," 
explained  the  agent. 

"I  think  you  are  very  kind  and  sensible  to  ad- 
vise us  in  this  way.  So  we'll  have  the  men  do  the 
paint  but  not  touch  the  paper  until  we  have  had 
time  to  look  it  over  again,"  said  Anne. 

"When  can  we  move  in?"  questioned  Polly. 


HOUSE  HUNTING  35 

"Any  time  you  like;  but  I  would  advise  having 
the  painters  out  first.  I  will  send  two  men  to  begin 
work  in  there  to-morrow." 

Then  the  four  delighted  tenants  left  the  office, 
and  on  the  walk  back  to  the  corner  where  they 
wished  to  board  the  car  they  eagerly  planned  how 
they  would  furnish  their  home. 


CHAPTER  III 

FURNISHING  THE  STABLE 

"ANNE,  if  we  hurry  and  get  the  furniture,  we 
can  settle  our  home  before  school  starts,"  sug- 
gested Eleanor,  eagerly. 

"If  you-all  had  only  let  me  ship  my  stuff  from 
Denver  you  wouldn't  have  to  buy  a  stick!"  de- 
clared Mrs.  Stewart. 

They  were  standing  on  the  corner  waiting  for 
an  up-town  car  but  not  one  was  in  sight.  Anne 
showed  signs  of  impatience  but  exclaimed  at  her 
mother's  remark: 

"Mother,  you  know  very  well  what  the  crating 
and  freight  would  have  cost,  and  you  sold  your 
stuff  for  more  than  it  was  worth.  I  think  you  are 
most  fortunate  to  have  that  little  roll  of  money 
on  hand,  when  you  consider  the  wear  and  tear  your 
furniture  has  had  in  the  last  thirty  years." 

"Anyway,  Mrs.  Stewart,  I  don't  want  Victorian 
period  in  our  house.  Polly  and  I  want  to  furnish 
and  decorate  our  own  rooms  as  we  like.  This  is 

36 


FURNISHING  THE  STABLE         37 

to  be  our  first  experiment  in  real  artistic  work," 
said  Eleanor,  comfortingly. 

Polly  nodded  her  head  at  these  words;  but 
standing  with  her  back  to  the  curb,  her  face  was 
opposite  a  large  show-window  in  the  corner  build- 
ing. Now,  as  if  by  some  magnet,  her  eyes  were 
attracted  to  what  that  window  contained. 

"Why,  just  see  there !  Right  near  our  street  is 
a  furniture  shop !"  With  this  exclamation,  Polly 
ran  over  to  inspect  the  objects  displayed  in  the 
window.  A  carved  four-poster,  and  other  rare 
antiques,  drew  the  attention  of  the  little  group. 

Polly  glanced  around  to  see  what  furniture  shop 
it  was  that  was  so  near  their  new  home. 

"Why!  It's  an  auction  place.  Surely,  it  can- 
not be  that  such  wonderful  things  are  sold  in  a 
junk  room,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Stewart. 

That  made  the  other  three  look  also,  and  Elea- 
nor added:  "It  doesn't  follow  that  just  because 
this  is  an  auction  house,  that  it  must  be  a  junk 
room." 

"Well,  I  never  saw  anything  but  awful  junk  in 
the  second-hand  place  in  Oak  Creek,"  explained 
Polly. 

"Even  the  Denver  dealers  sell  only  junk,  Nolla. 
But  it  may  be  different  in  New  York.  Every- 
thing seems  to  be  different,"  said  Anne. 


38  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Of  course  it  is !  Why  wouldn't  it  be  when  you 
stop  to  think  of  it.  In  the  first  place,  no  one  in 
Oak  Creek  ever  had  anything  but  junk  to  sell. 
And  in  Denver,  where  everyone  hangs  on  to  every 
stick  they  have,  simply  because  it  is  so  difficult  to 
get  anything  worth  while,  the  poor  second-hand 
dealer  starves  for  want  of  trade.  But  here,  as 
well  as  in  Chicago,  folks  send  stuff  to  places  like 
this  for  sale,  when  they  can't  find  a  place  to  move 
into.  I  just  bet  there  will  be  thousands  of  families 
that  will  have  to  sell  out  this  year  just  because 
there  are  not  enough  homes  for  all  of  them." 
Eleanor's  logic  was  sound,  and  Polly  ventured  a 
suggestion. 

"I'd  love  to  go  in  there  and  see  what  they  do 
with  such  pieces.  There  are  lots  of  well-dressed 
people  going  in — come  on." 

Nothing  loath  to  see  the  interior  of  a  New  York 
second-hand  shop,  the  westerners  went  to  the 
front  door.  There  a  colored  porter  stood  and 
bowed  politely. 

"Sale  goin'  on  in  third  room,  right,  ladies ;  have 
a  catalogue?" 

As  the  uniformed  attendant  offered  Anne  a 
pamphlet  of  about  twenty  pages,  he  waved  them 
inside  out  of  the  doorway.  Then  he  repeated  his 


FURNISHING  THE  STABLE         39 

directions  to  the  next  couple  who  followed  directly 
after  Mrs.  Stewart's  party. 

To  say  the  four  friends  were  astonished  at  the 
size  and  quality  of  the  auction-rooms  is  speaking 
mildly.  Not  a  piece  of  furniture  but  looked  rare 
and  expensive.  It  seemed  improbable  that  it  all 
was  for  sale. 

A  second  attendant  now  came  up  and  said: 
"Sale  now  going  on  in  south  gallery,  ladies." 

Then  Anne  took  her  courage  in  her  hands.  "We 
have  never  visited  a  sale  before,  so  you  will  confer 
a  favor  by  showing  us  where  to  go,  or  what  to  do. 
We  are  about  to  furnish  a  house." 

The  man  sensed  a  good  customer,  and  gallantly 
showed  them  through  several  well-stocked  rooms 
until  they  reached  the  last,  where  a  smiling 
smooth-tongued  individual  sat  behind  a  raised 
desk  and  spoke  conversationally  to  the  crowd 
which  sat  in  rows  before  him. 

"Jake,  find  me  four  chairs,  in  a  hurry,"  whis- 
pered the  man  who  was  conducting  Anne's  party. 

Without  confusion  and  in  a  moment's  time,  Jake 
carried  over  four  wonderful  Jacobean  chairs,  two 
in  each  hand,  their  backs  to  each  other,  and 
handled  as  recklessly  as  if  the  fine  carving  was 
made  of  unbreakable  metal. 


40  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Now,  ladies,  enjoy  yourselves,"  the  smiling  at- 
tendant said;  then  he  stopped  for  a  moment  at  the 
desk  to  say  a  word  to  the  auctioneer  who  continued 
his  selling  as  if  no  new  victims  had  been  intro- 
duced. 

One  marvelous  article  after  another  was 
brought  forth  and  placed  for  exhibition  upon  the 
Persian  rug  that  covered  the  platform  in  front  of 
the  audience.  And  one  after  another,  the  objects 
of  art  and  beauty  were  sold  to  different  buyers  at 
a  preposterously  low  figure. 

But  the  wily  auctioneer  took  notice  that  not  a 
member  of  the  newly  arrived  party  was  bidding 
on  anything.  He  decided  that  this  must  not  be,  so 
he  stood  up  to  address  the  assembly. 

"Friends,  I  know  that  you  are  here  to  buy  and 
not  to  waste  your  time  in  mere  curiosity.  If  there 
is  any  particular  article  you  need,  or  have  seen  on 
the  premises,  speak  out  and  I  will  oblige  you  by 
introducing  it  in  this  sale." 

He  glanced  over  the  crowd  and  finally  allowed 
his  gaze  to  rest  upon  the  four  who  sat  in  the  front 
row.  They  all  felt  guilty  of  using  his  time  and 
room  when  they  had  no  idea  of  buying  any  par- 
ticular thing.  Mrs.  Stewart  was  about  to  whisper 
to  Anne  that  they  had  better  go  when  Eleanor 
spoke  up  fearlessly. 


FURNISHING  THE  STABLE         41 

"I  saw  a  four-poster  in  the  show-window  before 
I  came  in.  Is  it  for  sale?" 

Her  three  companions  felt  the  shock  that  is  ex- 
perienced when  one  does  an  unusual  or  unexpected 
thing.  But  they  each  felt  thrilled,  too,  at  the  cour- 
age of  that  one. 

"I  regret  exceedingly,  my  dear  young  lady,  that 
that  particular  set  of  antique  mahogany  cannot  be 
sold  until  day  after  to-morrow.  In  fact,  only  the 
contents  of  this  vast  room  is  for  sale  to-day.  We 
take  them  in  turn,  you  see.  To-morrow  the  ad- 
joining room  goes,  and  the  day  following  that 
everything  is  sold  and  cleared  out  of  the  third 
room — where  the  bed  is." 

"But  we  have  a  four-poster  in  this  sale,  Mr. 
Winters,"  quickly  said  one  of  the  floor-men. 

"Ah,  indeed !  Perhaps  the  young  lady  will  like 
it  as  well  as  the  other  one.  Bring  it  forward* 
Joe." 

Without  the  slightest  delay,  the  floor-men  then 
pulled  and  pushed  a  very  elaborately  carved  four- 
posted  bed  out  upon  the"  dais.  It  was  similar  to 
the  one  in  the  window  but  it  was  smaller,  this  one 
being  four  feet  wide  while  the  one  on  exhibition 
for  Friday's  sale  was  full  sized. 

The  auctioneer  spoke  of  all  the  points  about  this 
particular  piece  of  furniture,  and  then  began  to 


42  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

offer  it  for  sale.     The  four  visitors  in  the  front 
row  sat  as  if  hypnotized  at  his  manner. 

"What,  no  one  here  to  appreciate  this  marvel- 
ous work  of  other  days,  now  to  be  sold  for  three 
hundred  dollars?" 

Not  a  sound  encouraged  him,  so  he  sighed  and 
said:  "Well,  is  there  anyone  who  will  give  two 
hundred  for  it?" 

Eleanor's  heart  thumped.  She  was  willing  to 
give  it  but  she  found  her  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof 
of  her  mouth  at  the  very  idea  of  securing  the  bed 
at  such  a  price. 

"Too  bad!  Then  I  shall  have  to  ask  if  anyone 
will  pay  me  one  hundred  dollars?  Is  this  bed  not 
worth  that  to  you,  young  lady — or  perhaps  you 
need  a  full-sized  bed?"  The  auctioneer  looked  at 
Eleanor  but  failed  to  see  the  dazzling  glint  that 
shot  into  her  eyes  when  he  offered  the  bed  for  one 
hundred.  He  really  had  no  hope  of  starting  it  at 
that  figure  so  he  over-did  it  that  time. 

"All  right,  friends,  I  am  perfectly  willing  to 
have  you  set  your  own  price  on  this  magnificent 
piece  of  carving  that  is  no  less  than  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  old.  Now  what  is  your  pleasure? 
Fifty,  forty,  thirty — what?  did  I  hear  a  bargain- 
hunter  say  twenty-five?  Oh,  impossible?" 
Eleanor  almost  fainted  at  such  a  dreadful  s 


FURNISHING  THE  STABLE         43 

fice,  and  would  have  stood  up  to  offer  him  the 
hundred,  had  not  a  man  in  the  rear  called  out 
"Fifty." 

"Ah,  that  is  better — thank  you.  Now,  fifty, 
fifty,  fifty — who  says  seventy-five?  I  want  seventy- 
five — fifty,  fifty,  fifty,  fif — fif-tee,  tee,  t-e-e — what, 
no  one  here  willing  to  pay  more  than  fifty  dollars 
for  this  bee-u — utiful  bit  of  antique  mahogany? 
Fif-fif-fif— Ah!" 

Eleanor  swallowed  hard,  half-stood  up,  and  the 
auctioneer  caught  her  eye  at  last.  He  smiled,  ac- 
knowledged her  expression,  and  now  called : 

"Seventy-five !  I  now  have  seventy-five,  seven, 
seven,  sev-sev-seventy — seventy-fi-ifvvve !  I  have 
seventy-five  dollars  for  this  wonderful  mahogany 
bed  that  is  really  worth  seven  hundred  dollars  in 
any  store  to-day.  And  I  only  have  seventy-five 
dollars  bid.  Seven-tee " 

Again  Eleanor  half-stood  up  and  this  time  she 
managed  to  say  "One  hundred,  please !" 

"Thank  you,  young  lady — you  certainly  under- 
stand fine  furniture.  I  am  now  offered  one  hun- 
dred dollars  by  one  who  knows  the  value  of  this 
bed — one  hundred,  one  hundred — hundred — one, 
h-u-ndred  dollars  offered — who  will  give  a  hun- 
dred and  ten — only  ten  more  gets  it?" 

Polly  was  so  amazed  when  Eleanor  said  "One 


44  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

hundred  dollars"  that  she  giggled  hysterically;  but 
not  wishing  to  have  her  friend  brag  how  "she  bid 
at  this  auction  and  her  friends  were  too  shy,"  Polly 
looked  anxiously  at  the  auctioneer.  He  saw  that 
look  and  understood. 

"Don't  hesitate,  young  lady.  You  know  'he  who 
hesitates  is  lost' — in  this  case,  loses  a  great  bar- 
gain. If  you  wish  to  bid,  never  fear  competing 
with  a  friend.  In  this  business  there  are  no  friends 
— all  men  are  strangers.  Shall  I  say  one  hundred 
and  ten  for  you?" 

Polly  nodded  eagerly  and  smiled  broadly  at 
Eleanor.     The  two  girls  were  so  delighted  with 
themselves  at  daring  to  speak  out  so  bravely  in  a' 
city  like  New  York  that  they  failed  to  realize  the 
auctioneer  had  knocked  down  the  bed  to  Polly. 

"This  young  lady  in  front.  I  must  say  she  ap- 
preciates fine  furniture!"  declared  the  suave  auc- 
tioneer to  everyone  in  general. 

"W-h-y,  Pol — le-ee!  Is  that  your  bed?"  gasped 
Mrs.  Stewart. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know.  Is  it,  Nolla?"  laughed 
Polly. 

Just  then  a  brusque  voice  said:  "Name  and 
address  please — and  twenty-five  per  cent  deposit 
money." 


FURNISHING  THE  STABLE         45 

The  girls  looked  up  in  bewilderment.  Who  was 
the  man? 

He  seemed  to  read  their  thoughts,  for  he 
smiled.  "I  am  the  cashier.  Everyone  has  to  pay 
down  a  cash  deposit  on  their  bids.  Everything 
you  buy  has  to  be  removed  by  Saturday,  or  we  are 
not  responsible  for  it  after  that." 

"Oh !"  Polly  and  Eleanor  looked  at  each  other. 
They  were  trying  to  figure  out  how  much  money 
he  wanted. 

"Here — I'll  pay  the  deposit.  About  thirty 
dollars,  isn't  it?"  said  Anne,  in  a  business-like 
tone. 

"Yes,  thank  you.  Now  name  and  address, 
please?" 

"What's  the  number  of  our  stable,  Anne?" 
laughed  Eleanor. 

When  Anne  gave  the  address  the  cashier  looked 
surprised.  "Oh,  have  you  rented  the  Studio  down 
the  street?" 

The  girls  bowed  wonderingly,  and  he  added: 
"The  artist  who  lived  there  for  a  number  of  years, 
used  to  drop  in  here  every  week  just  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  picking  up  curios.  In  fact,  I  saw  him 
here  a  few  minutes  ago.  He  told  me  he  would 
give  fifty  percent  advance  to  the  tenant  who  leased 


46  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

that  place.  Here's  a  chance  for  you  to  make 
money  if  you  want  to  give  up  the  Studio." 

"We  want  a  home  more  than  money,  mister  1" 
declared  Polly. 

"You've  said  it,  Poll !  If  we  give  up  this  studio 
we  may  have  to  go  back  and  live  in  our  gold  mine, 
because  New  York  hasn't  any  homes  left,  this 
year,"  laughed  Eleanor. 

The  cashier  had  not  missed  the  mention  of  "our 
gold  mine"  and  determined  to  do  his  utmost  to 
please  these  ladies.  Hence  he  whispered:  "I'll 
look  after  everything  you  buy  here,  and  don't 
worry  about  moving  it  away  on  Saturday.  Next 
week  will  do,  if  you  are  not  ready  to  get  things 
out  this  week." 

"Polly,  Polly!  There  goes  a  high-boy  that 
matches  the  bed  you  got!"  cried  Eleanor,  at  this 
moment. 

"They  are  pieces  of  the  same  set.  Strange  to 
say,  they  came  from  the  very  place  you  rented. 
The  artist  has  to  sell  out  because  he  cannot  find  an 
apartment,  and  there  is  no  storage  room  for  his 
furniture,"  explained  the  cashier. 

So  Polly  secured  the  high-boy  for  sixty  dollars 
and  felt  very  proud  of  her  purchases.  Eleanor 
bought  a  pair  of  brass  fire-dogs  and  irons,  and 


FURNISHING  THE  STABLE         47 

Anne  bid  on  a  large  etching.  When  it  was  knocked 
down  to  her,  she  turned  to  her  mother  and  said: 
"I  really  do  not  want  it.  What  under  the  sun  did 
I  get  it  for?" 

And  Mrs.  Stewart  laughed.  "It's  always  the 
way  at  these  vendues.  One  gets  all  kinds  of  things 
one  never  needs." 

"Then  let's  get  out.  Girls,  I'm  going  now," 
whispered  Anne,  rising  to  leave. 

The  cashier  hurried  over  when  he  saw  the  four 
new  customers  about  to  go,  and  said,  "The  artist 
would  like  very  much  to  meet  his  successors  to  the 
Studio." 

At  the  same  moment,  a  grey-haired  gentleman 
bowed  and  smiled,  and  the  group  waited  expect- 
antly. Anne  and  Polly  smiled  also. 

"You  are  the  kind  friend  who  advised  us,  yes- 
terday, when  we  had  to  leave  the  car,"  Anne  said, 
pleasantly. 

"Yes,  but  I  never  dreamed  I  was  directing  you 
right  to  my  front  door,"  rejoined  the  artist. 

"Well,  Mr.  Fabian,  as  long  as  you've  met 
before,  I'll  go  about  my  business,"  and  the  cashier 
hurried  away,  leaving  the  five  people  in  the  ad- 
joining room. 

Anne  proceeded  to  introduce  her  friends  and 


48  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

then  added:  "It  was  providential  that  we  went 
through  that  street.  Now  we  have  a  home  to  our 
liking." 

"I  am  delighted  that  my  successors  will  appre- 
ciate the  place,  but  I  am  still  seeking  for  quarters. 
Had  I  choked  my  anger  and  swallowed  my  pride, 
when  the  owner  refused  to  keep  his  word  about 
the  stable-doors,  I  would  still  be  enjoying  my  cozy 
Studio." 

Mr.  Fabian  then  told  the  ladies  how  he  had 
taken  the  stable  in  its  raw  state  and  turned  it  into 
the  lovely  dwelling  it  now  was.  He  had  paid  for 
all  the  hardwood  floors,  for  the  partitions  on  the 
ground-floor,  and  for  the  kitchen  plumbing. 

"Why,  it  must  have  cost  you  a  small  fortune," 
ventured  Anne.  "And  now  it  seems  too  bad  that 
you  can't  enjoy  it." 

"But  I  did  enjoy  it,  my  dear  young  lady — for 
five  years.  And  I  only  paid  sixty  dollars  a  month, 
during  that  time,  too.  When  the  owner  raised 
me,  this  year,  to  ninety  I  rebelled,  because  I  had 
spent  so  much  money  on  beautifying  the  rooms.  I 
thought  he  would  really  relent  and  say  I  could 
have  it  for  about  seventy-five  a  month.  I  was  mis- 
taken." 

"We're  paying  a  hundred  and  fifty  a  month  and 
make  all  repairs,  ourselves,"  Anne  ventured. 


FURNISHING  THE  STABLE         49 

"He  took  advantage  of  the  unusual  conditions. 
But  you  have  a  better  bargain,  even  so,  than  if  you 
had  rented  a  seven-room  apartment,  uptown,  for 
two  or  three  thousand  a  year." 

By  this  time  they  were  standing  on  the  corner 
once  more,  and  Mr.  Fabian  seemed  ready  to  leave 
them.  Then  Polly  remembered  that  the  cashier 
had  said  the  bed  and  high-boy  she  just  bought  had 
come  from  the  Studio. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Fabian,  excuse  me  for  speaking  of  it, 
but  did  you  really  own  the  four-poster  I  got  at  the 
sale  just  now?" 

"Yes,  my  dear.  It  was  in  the  room  my  little 
daughter  occupied  when  she  was  home.  She  is 
now  in  Paris  taking  an  art  course."  The  girls 
were  deeply  interested  in  this  intimate  information. 
"That  box-spring  with  the  mattress  on  the  bed  was 
made  to  order  of  the  best  material  I  could  buy. 
You'll  find  the  silk-floss  in  that  mattress  is  so  soft 
you'll  never  care  to  get  up,  once  you  rest  upon  it." 

"But  I  didn't  know  the  spring  and  mattress  went 
with  the  bed,"  Polly  said,  amazed. 

"Oh,  yes.  That  is  the  way  they  generally  sell 
other  folks'  goods.  But  I  wish  to  say,  that  Nancy 
only  used  the  bed  a  few  weeks,  as  she  had  a  splen- 
did opportunity  to  enter  a  class  in  a  friend's  school 
in  Paris,  so  we  started  her  across  without  delay. 


50  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

My  wife  went,  too,  to  look  after  her;  that  is  one 
reason  I  refused  to  pay  the  increased  rent;  I 
thought  it  was  too  much  for  one  lone  man  to  pay." 

"It  almost  makes  me  feel  as  if  we  ought  to  take 
you  in  to  live  with  us,"  said  Mrs.  Stewart,  sympa- 
thetically. "If  there  only  was  one  extra  bedroom, 
now,  we  could  make  you  a  member  of  our  family 
just  as  well  as  not." 

"But  we  haven't  that  extra  room!"  laughed 
Anne,  wondering  what  this  stranger  would  think 
of  her  mother's  free  western  hospitality. 

What  he  thought  was  soon  expressed.  "I  cer- 
tainly appreciate  such  unusual  kindness  and  I  see 
it  is  genuine.  So  I  will  dare  to  do  this:  I  shall 
love  to  drop  in,  now  and  then,  and  see  how  you 
all  are  doing.  Perhaps  I  can  be  of  some  assistance 
to  you,  in  various  ways." 

"I  know  you  can!"  declared  Eleanor,  eagerly. 
"Polly  and  I  are  taking  up  art  and  interior  dec- 
orating and  we  need  lots  of  ideas  from  grown-ups 
who  have  had  experience.  You  can  advise  us  that 
way." 

"Begin  your  regular  home  visits  a  week  from 
Sunday,  Mr.  Fabian.  We  will  be  settled  then  and 
ready  to  welcome  you  to  our  house,"  added  Anne. 

Then  they  parted  and  Mr.  Fabian  went  down- 
town, while  the  four  companions  walked  north- 


FURNISHING  THE  STABLE         51 

wards  to  the  hotel.  As  they  walked,  Anne  said: 
"It  certainly  was  queer  how  that  gentleman  sent 
us  past  his  own  home  and  we  saw  it.  Now,  he 
turns  out  to  be  just  the  kind  of  a  friend  Polly  and 
Eleanor  will  need  to  advise  them  about  art 
school." 

"Anne,  what  shall  we  do  with  the  rest  of  the 
afternoon?  We  still  have  two  hours  before  din- 
ner-time," said  Eleanor,  glancing  at  her  wrist- 
watch. 

"We  can  go  over  to  the  nearest  shop  and  get 
Polly  an  everyday  hat.  I  can't  bear  to  see  this 
lovely  one  hacked  out  at  auction  rooms.  She 
needs  complete  outfits  of  underwear,  too,  but  we 
may  be  too  late  at  the  shops,  for  that." 

"Anne,  I  saw  in  the  paper  this  morning,  when 
you  were  looking  for  apartments,  that  a  fine  Fifth 
avenue  shop  is  having  a  sale  of  early  fall  models. 
Let's  go  up  and  get  Polly's  hat  there,"  advised 
Eleanor,  eagerly. 

Anne  laughed.  "You  are  willing  to  get  one  for 
^yourself,  too,  eh?" 

So  both  girls  were  supplied  with  chic  hats  before 
they  returned  to  the  hotel.  There  they  found  an 
invitation  from  the  Latimers  to  come,  informally, 
and  dine  with  them  that  night.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Evans  would  try  to  come  in  later. 


52  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"It's  now  five-thirty.  Can  we  get  dressed  and 
make  it,  in  time?"  asked  Eleanor,  anxiously. 

"Oh,  yes;  we  haven't  far  to  go,  you  know.  A 
taxi  will  take  us  there  in  ten  minutes,"  replied 
Anne. 

All  was  hurry  and  bustle,  then,  and  when  the 
two  girls  emerged  from  their  rooms  dressed  in 
their  new  gowns,  Anne  felt  that  they  did  her  credit. 
She  could  not  but  remark  at  the  great  improve- 
ment that  clothes,  well-fitting  and  of  fine  material, 
made  in  Polly's  appearance.  Now  the  girl  looked 
positively  beautiful. 

A  pleasant  evening  ensued,  Jim  and  Ken  insist- 
ing upon  the  right  to  escort  the  ladies  home  after 
everyone  had  said  good-night. 

"You  know,  girls,  Ken  and  I  are  going  to  Yale 
next  week?"  said  Jim,  as  they  started  down  Broad- 
way. 

"So  your  father  said,  to-night.  We  will  miss 
you,  Jim,"  returned  Anne. 

"But  we'll  be  home  every  chance  we  get — 
Thanksgiving,  Christmas  and  other  times,"  Ken- 
neth said,  hopefully. 

"Nolla  and  I  will  be  awfully  busy  in  school,  and 
in  trying  to  get  started  in  the  art  classes,"  added 
Polly. 

"I  hope  you  have  the  stable  settled  before  we 


FURNISHING  THE  STABLE         53 

leave  the  city.  We  want  to  give  you-all  a  house- 
warming,"  said  Kenneth. 

"That  will  be  great!  Let's  have  it,  anyway, 
even  if  everything  is  not  in  apple-pie  order  in  the 
house,"  exclaimed  Polly. 

So  before  they  parted,  that  night,  it  was  all  ar- 
ranged that  the  house-warming  should  take  place 
the  next  Tuesday  evening.  The  boys  were  leaving 
for  college  on  Thursday,  and  the  last  few  days 
before  starting  in  the  new  school,  would  be  busy 
ones  for  the  girls. 

"All  right,  we'll  tell  the  folks  the  fun  is  on  for 
next  Tuesday,  then,"  said  Jim,  as  they  shook 
hands. 

"And  it  must  be  a  regular  surprise,  you  know — 
we  bring  our  own  refreshments  and  everything," 
laughed  Kenneth. 

"Oh,  no !  That  is  the  least  we  can  do  in  return 
for  all  you  folks  have  done  for  us.  We  will  fur- 
nish your  refreshments !"  declared  Eleanor,  posi- 
tively. 

"As  long  as  you  furnish  plenty,  all  right.  But 
remember,  girls,  that  Ken  and  I  still  have  our 
Rocky  Mountain  appetites  I" 


CHAPTER  IV 

BARGAINS,  BARGAINS  EVERYWHERE ! 

WITH  the  worry  of  house-hunting  gone,  the 
young  friends  felt  at  liberty  to  be  deliberate  while 
apportioning  their  time.  Anne  took  Polly  and 
Eleanor  to  the  West  End  School,  the  morning  fol- 
lowing their  meeting  with  Mr.  Fabian,  and  intro- 
duced them  to  the  proprietress  as  the  two  young 
ladies  she  had  written  about. 

Polly  thought  the  elegant  mansion  that  looked 
more  like  a  prince's  residence  than  a  school,  would 
keep  her  from  concentrating  upon  her  lessons. 
While  Anne  and  the  principal  of  the  select  school 
talked  business,  Polly  glanced  about  the  reception 
room. 

The  rugs  were  beautiful,  most  of  them  having 
the  faded  soft  colors  of  the  antique  Persian  and 
Turkish.  But  the  furniture  was  too  gorgeous  in 
upholstering  for  the  type  of  room.  Then  there 
were  heavy  boxed  oil  paintings  in  rich  gilt  frames, 
hanging  on  the  walls;  and  teakwood  pedestals 

54 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!          55 

holding  statuettes  and  busts ;  and  onyx  stands  with 
palms.  The  mantel  was  loaded  with  bric-a-brac 
of  all  sorts.  Many  other  minor  items  showed  bad 
taste  in  whoever  furnished  the  room. 

Polly  felt  all  this,  but  could  not  explain  just 
why  she  resented  such  a  conglomeration  of  color 
and  furnishings.  But  Eleanor,  having  had  the  re- 
sults of  a  decorator's  judgment  displayed  in  her 
home,  in  Chicago,  felt  inclined  to  smile  at  what 
she  saw  about  her.  It  was  sure  evidence  of  Polly's 
improvement  in  artistic  interiors  since  the  day  she 
thought  the  green  window-shades  quite  the  thing, 
to  this  time  when  the  indiscriminate  mixing  of 
colors  offended  her  eyes. 

"I  really  am  relieved  to  hear  that  you  will  not 
be  resident  here,  Miss  Stewart,  as  I  need  your 
room  for  two  boarders.  I  had  planned  to  enlarge 
the  dormitory  this  -year,  but  everything  costs  so 
much  that  I  postponed  it.  Now  this  extra  room 
will  come  in  very  nicely  for  me,"  Mrs.  Wellington 
was  saying  when  Polly  and  Eleanor  had  finished 
a  survey  of  the  room,  and  rejoined  Anne. 

"Girls,  Mrs.  Wellington  says  we  may  have  a 
look  at  the  class-rooms.  Would  you  like  to  go 
with  me?"  said  Anne. 

Without  demur  they  followed  the  lady  of  the 
house.  They  passed  through  the  formal  parlor 


56  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

where  guests  of  distinction  were  entertained.  Here 
the  two  girls  also  saw  the  lack  of  taste  in  furnish- 
ing. Gilded  furniture  with  delicate  satin  uphol- 
stery, fought  with  wall-paper  of  heavy  Spanish- 
leather  design.  Curtains  and  portieres  were  of 
velour,  heavily  edged  with  fringe.  Valances  of 
velour  were  over  the  windows,  and  on  the  mantel. 
Instead  of  having  a  delicate  French  carpet  on  the 
floor,  there  were  thick-napped  dark-toned  Beloo- 
chistan  rugs. 

The  long  library  opened  out  from  the  parlor, 
and  here  there  was  an  atmosphere  of  rest,  because 
the  entire  wall-spaces  were  lined  with  dark  cabi- 
nets whose  shelves  were  well  filled  with  volumes 
in  bindings  made  to  harmonize  with  the  rich  paper 
that  showed  above  the  book-cases.  The  window- 
seats  were  built  in  and  upholstered  in  tapestry  to 
match  the  paper.  The  tables  and  leather  arm- 
chairs were  not  so  glaringly  out  of  keeping  with 
the  room  as  the  furniture  in  the  first  two  rooms 
had  been. 

Mrs.  Wellington  waved  her  hand  carelessly  at 
this  room:  "When  I  bought  this  house,  all  the 
books  went  with  it,  just  as  you  see  them  now.  The 
window-seats  are  still  covered  as  they  were,  but 
I  hope  soon  to  spend  some  money  in  making  this 
library  more  cheerful  for  the  girls.  I  like  bright 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!         57 

colors,  but  that  dun  wall  paper  and  that  dull  tapes- 
try on  the  window  cushions  gives  me  the  blues.  If 
the  books  had  not  been  such  a  bargain — the  execu- 
tor of  the  estate  was  most  anxious  to  dispose  of 
them — I  never  would  have  taken  them.  Their 
dull  green  morocco  bindings  make  the  room  seem 
heavy,  don't  you  think?" 

"Oh,  no !  I  was  just  thinking  how  lovely  the 
glint  of  the  gold  lettering  on  each  dark  book 
makes  the  room  seem.  If  only  there  was  a  dark 
polished  floor  to  reflect  the  chair  and  table  legs, 
the  room  would  be  wonderful!  But  this  large 
carpet  spoils  that  effect!"  Nolla  exclaimed  impet- 
uously. 

Mrs.  Wellington  straightened  her  spine  and 
looked  in  hurt  amazement  at  this  inexperienced 
miss  who  babbled  like  an  expert  decorator.  No 
one  had  ever  criticised  that  carpet  rug  before ! 

Anne  saw  the  look  and  comprehended  at  once, 
so  she  dropped  oil  on  the  troubled  waters.  "Oh, 
Nolla !  you  are  so  carried  away  with  your  hobby 
of  studying  decorating  that  you  needs  must  prac- 
tise it  and  criticise  everywhere.  Now,  I'm  sure, 
Mrs.  Wellington  never  would  have  dreamed  of 
your  ambition  had  you  not  showed  it  so  plainly  in 
your  words  just  now." 

Eleanor  understood  Anne's  motive  in  speaking 


5  8  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

thus,  and  smiled  benignly.  Polly  was  still  trying 
to  grasp  the  handle  to  Anne's  remark  when  the 
lady  of  the  house  led  them  forth  again. 

"Here  are  a  number  of  smaller  rooms  where 
girls  may  sit  and  read  or  study  in  the  evening. 
And  now  we  will  go  up  to  the  class  rooms." 

If  Eleanor  and  Polly  had  been  able  to  find  flaws 
with  the  lack  of  taste  shown  in  the  furnishings  of 
the  first-floor,  they  could  not  detect  the  slightest 
item  missing  in  the  equipment  and  furnishing  of 
the  different  school  rooms.  Every  known  modern 
device  and  object  for  the  comfort,  health  and  help 
of  scholars,  were  in  evidence.  Anne  smiled  with 
pleasure  as  she  looked  around. 

"It  will  be  a  delight  to  reach  in  such  a  room  as 
this,  Mrs.  Wellington;  and  I'm  sure  the  scholars 
appreciate  all  you  do  for  them." 

"No,  that  is  the  strange  part  of  it,  Miss  Stew- 
art. The  girls  who  come  here  seldom  think  of  all 
I  do  for  them  in  providing  these  rooms.  They 
take  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  I  should  spend 
so  much  money  in  keeping  everything  as  I  do, 
while  my  competitors  ask  higher  rates  and  spend 
less;"  the  lady  looked  troubled  over  it. 

"Now  I  have  a  friend  down  on  Seventy-second 
street,  who  has  conducted  a  most  exclusive  school 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!         59 

for  years;  but  she  will  not  spend  a  cent  in  these 
ideal  accommodations  yet  she  gets  higher  prices 
than  I  do.  And  her  waiting  list  of  well-known 
names  is  endless.  I  only  have  a  list  of  about  a 
dozen  applicants  and  they  are  not  daughters  of 
millionaires,  either." 

"Perhaps,"  Anne  remarked  kindly,  "the  girls 
you  graduate  make  something  of  themselves  in 
life,  whereas  those  other  society  girls  merely  skim 
over  lessons  and  never  know  how  to  spell  their 
own  names." 

"Yes,  that  is  true;  I  secure  the  very  best  teach- 
ers and  try  to  instill  knowledge  wisely.  And  I 
am  sure,  my  girls,  upon  leaving  here,  can  compete 
with  anyone." 

"I  should  say  that  was  a  great  comfort.  To 
look  back  some  day  and  be  able  to  say :  'I  taught 
that  girl  how  to  combat  ignorance.'  And  the  girls 
who  sincerely  admit  what  you  have  done,  will  rise 
up  and  call  you  blessed — for  giving  them  these  ex- 
pensive modern  helps  to  acquire  wisdom." 

Madam  seemed  pleased  with  this  point  of  view, 
and  said:  "You  will  stop  and  have  luncheon  with 
me,  won't  you,  dears?" 

"We  really  cannot,  Mrs.  Wellington.  You  see 
we  have  to  furnish  the  home  that  we  just  leased, 


60  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

yesterday.  We  are  most  anxious  to  have  every- 
thing in  order  before  starting  with  our  school  work 
on  the  first,"  Anne  explained,  politely. 

"Oh,  of  course,  that  is  wise.  Then  I  will  look 
for  you  Monday  morning — the  first  of  October. 
If  there  is  anything  you  wish  to  know,  you  can  call 
me  up  any  time  during  the  mornings.  And  if  you 
are  in  this  neighborhood  before  the  first,  do  come 
in  and  have  tea." 

After  the  girls  had  gone,  Madam  smiled  and 
thought  to  herself :  "I  certainly  made  no  mistake 
in  engaging  that  young  teacher.  She  seems  to  be 
the  best  one  I  have  ever  interviewed.  And  the 
girls  will  take  to  her,  I'm  sure." 

Anne  led  the  way  to  a  Broadway  trolley,  and 
soon  they  were  at  the  hotel.  Mrs.  Stewart  was 
impatiently  awaiting  them,  so  they  had  an  early 
luncheon  and  then  hurried  downtown  to  the  "Art 
Galleries"  on  Fourth  avenue. 

The  sale  had  just  opened,  and  they  were  able  to 
secure  front  chairs.  A  list  had  been  made  of 
pieces  of  furniture  they  really  needed  to  start 
house-keeping  with,  and  now  they  hoped  to  be 
able  to  find  just  the  things  they  had  pictured  for 
the  Studio. 

A  solid  mahogany  gate-leg  table  was  knocked 
down  to  Anne  for  fourteen  dollars  and  a  half. 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!         61 

Then  a  wing-chair  with  quaint  lines,  upholstered 
in  orchid  blue  velour,  was  sold  to  Eleanor  for 
nineteen  dollars. 

"Dear  me,  that  was  a  lovely  chair,  Nolla.  I 
wish  I  had  one  like  it,"  sighed  Polly. 

"Isn't  my  table  a  dear!"  whispered  Anne, 
eagerly. 

"But  it  has  as  many  legs  as  a  centipede,"  replied 
Polly. 

The  others  laughed  gaily  at  her  criticism  but  at 
that  moment,  a  comfortable  Turkish  arm-chair 
was  placed  upon  the  dais.  It  was  upholstered  in 
a  rich  tapestry,  and  looked  oh !  so  luxurious. 

Polly  watched  the  bidders  anxiously.  She  had 
a  sudden  desire  for  that  chair,  but  she  couldn't 
manage  to  get  in  at  the  bidding,  at  all.  But  when 
she  saw  a  woman  opposite,  hold  up  a  hand  above 
her  head,  and  so  learned  that  that  was  one  way 
to  catch  the  auctioneer's  attention,  she,  too,  fol- 
lowed suit. 

She  instantly  held  up  her  hand,  and  just  saved 
the  chair  from  being  sold  to  a  man  at  the  back. 
So  it  was  knocked  down  to  her  at  seventeen-fifty. 

"There !  That  is  Mrs.  Stewart's  chair.  I  saw 
the  look  in  her  eye  when  it  was  placed  upon  the 
dais;  and  I  know  just  how  she  will  enjoy  it  when 
she  has  done  preparing  our  dinners.  That  chair, 


62  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

out  before  the  open  fire-place  giving  rest  to  a  tired 
house-keeper,  will  make  one  feel  like  new!"  Polly 
said. 

"But,  Polly,  child!  you  must  not  spend  your 
money  buying  me  such  things  I"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Stewart. 

"I  will  if  I  want  to!  This  is  the  first  stick 
you've  got  for  your  room.  And  without  you, 
I'd  like  to  know  what  kind  of  a  home  we'd 
have.  So  don't  you  say  another  word  if  I  want 
to  buy  other  things  for  you." 

Anne  objected.  "Maybe  this  one  chair  is  all 
right,  Polly,  but  no  more,  please." 

"Anne,  just  see  all  the  money  we're  saving  on 
buying  our  furniture,  this  way.  Why  can't  I  use 
the  surplus  as  I  want  to?  I  say  I  will — if  I  see 
anything  I  want  very  much  to  give  you  or  your 
mother." 

Anne  knew  when  Polly  was  determined  to  have 
her  way,  and  believed  the  best  plan  now  would  be 
to  buy  what  was  needed  for  herself  and  her 
mother,  so  as  to  forestall  Polly  or  Eleanor. 

So  that  afternoon  Anne  got  two  single  brass 
beds  with  brand  new  springs  and  mattresses.  The 
auctioneer  explained  that  the  bedding  was  sent  in 
by  the  Manhattan  Factory,  because  of  an  order 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!         63 

that  had  been  cancelled  before  delivery  of  goods. 
So  Anne  secured  the  bedding  at  half  price. 

Neither  of  the  girls  suspected  Anne  of  any 
secret  plot  when  she  bought  other  articles  at  that 
sale  for  the  two  bedrooms  she  needed  to  furnish ; 
but  when  Eleanor  eagerly  bid  on  a  Priscilla  work- 
table  of  mahogany  and  got  it  for  Mrs.  Stewart, 
Anne  felt  annoyed. 

"My  goodness,  Anne,  it  was  only  five-fifty. 
Who  ever  saw  a  work-table  as  cheap  as  that, 
before?  I  know  your  mother  will  love  to  darn 
stockings  for  us  all,  now — with  a  nice  place  in 
which  to  keep  her  wools,"  argued  Eleanor,  laugh- 
ingly. 

"Maybe  mother  would  rather  not  darn  stock- 
ings but  let  you  keep  the  table,  yourself,"  sug- 
gested Anne. 

Before  they  left  the  Art  Gallery  that  day,  they 
found  they  had  really  bought  enough  articles  to 
start  in  with  if  they  liked.  They  could  add  rugs, 
bric-a-brac,  and  different  luxurious  chairs,  at  any 
time. 

"But  we  need  dishes  and  utensils,  girls,"  said 
Mrs.  Stewart. 

"We'll  get  them  in  a  department  store,  and  have 
them  delivered  at  once,"  replied  Anne. 


64  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Let's  run  over  and  see  if  the  painters  have 
done  anything,"  suggested  Polly. 

"Might  as  well,  Anne — we  are  right  here,  you 
see,"  added  Eleanor. 

So  they  turned  the  corner  and  walked  down  the 
street  to  reach  the  Studio  in  time  to  see  the  paint- 
ers finish  the  work  on  the  ground  floor. 

"How  nice  and  fresh  it  looks.  But  the  wall- 
paper looks  dusty,"  said  Mrs.  Stewart. 

"It  is  dusty,  madam.  I  was  just  sayin'  to  my 
friend  here  you  ought  to  have  someone  clean  it  all 
off  with  bread  crumbs.  It  is  a  swell  paper  if  it  is 
clean,"  remarked  the  painter. 

"Bread-crumbs?"  ejaculated  Anne. 

"Yes'm.  Best  thing  known  to  clean  fine  paper. 
I'll  get  a  man  to  do  it  if  you  say  so.  He  knows 
his  job." 

"I  wish  you  would.  And  ask  him  to  supply  th& 
bread,  too,  as  we  are  stopping  at  a  hotel  where  it 
is  hard  to  get  such  things." 

"An*  I  was  goin'  to  mention — the  porcelain  tubs 
and  basins  oughta  be  cleaned  fer  you'se.  When 
we  finish  painting  I  will  scour  and  polish  'em,  if 
you  say  so." 

"Yes,  please  do!  And  the  floors  ought  to  be 
polished,  too." 

"We'll  take  care  of  all  that,  if  you  just  tell  us 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!         65 

to  go  ahead  and  clean  up  as  we  see  fit,"  said  the 
painter. 

"All  right;  but  don't  make  us  wait  too  long 
before  we  can  move  in.  We  are  going  to  have  a 
house-warming,  here,  next  week,"  explained  Elea- 
nor, anxiously. 

"I've  got  an  extra  man  comin'  on  to-morrow, 
and  we'll  be  out  of  here  by  Saturday.  Especially 
if  we  work  Sat'aday  afternoon — but  that  means 
double  pay,  you  know." 

"Never  mind  that;  finish  the  job  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, for  we  will  save  that  much  extra  money  in 
hotel  bills,"  said  Anne. 

"All  right!  We'll  turn  it  over  for  you  Sat'aday 
night!" 

Everything  seemed  to  be  going  so  well,  not  only 
with  their  Studio-home,  but  with  furnishings  and 
decorators,  that  the  girls  felt  elated. 

The  next  day  they  again  met  Mr.  Fabian  at  the 
Art  Galleries,  and  he  proved  a  very  welcome  mem- 
ber to  their  party,  as  he  knew  all  about  rugs,  por- 
celains, and  antiques.  Having  shown  them  and 
explained  all  about  the  few  rare  pieces  still  for  sale 
in  the  auction  rooms,  he  said: 

"Some  day  you  must  go  with  me  to  some  of  the 
other  places.  There  are  dozens  of  these  shops  in 
New  York,  and  each  one  seems  to  incline  to  some 


66  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

particular  line  of  furnishing.  Then,  too,  one  can 
see  more  wonderful  antiques  in  these  shabby  little 
shops  along  the  avenue,  than  one  would  believe 
possible. 

"I  often  pick  up  rare  things  in  these  places. 
They  are  run,  mostly,  by  Hebrews  who  merely 
know  when  an  object  is  antique,  or  in  demand.  But 
they  seldom  can  tell  you  the  period  or  name  of 
many  of  their  most  valuable  items.  It  was  in  this 
way  that  a  friend  of  mine  once  discovered  a 
treasure. 

"His  wife  wanted  a  necklace  for  Christmas — 
something  odd  and  different  than  any  that  her 
friends  had.  So  he  came  to  me  and  said :  'Fabian, 
I  can't  afford  Tiffany  prices,  but  I  wish  I  could 
find  something  unusual.  I  want  to  please  my  wife, 
because  she  has  been  such  a  good  sport  during 
the  time  I  was  hanging  over  the  edge  of  bank- 
ruptcy. Now  what  would  you  suggest?" 

"I  offered  to  go  with  him.  So  we  sauntered  out 
of  the  Studio  and  walked  over  here,  to  Fourth 
avenue.  We  stopped  in  every  little  collector's  shop 
along  the  street,  but  could  not  find  just  what  ap- 
pealed to  him.  Then  we  entered  that  shop  across 
the  street — the  one  near  the  corner. 

"I  knew  the  old  Hebrew  well,  having  often 
looked  over  his  trays  filled  with  every  old  thing 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!         67 

conceivable.  So  I  said  upon  entering:  'Got  any 
odd  kind  of  necklace  or  chain,  Moses?  Some- 
thing to  go  around  a  lady's  neck,  you  know?'  I 
had  to  demonstrate  my  words  as  I  spoke. 

'Ya,  ya !     Shure,  I  got  a  chain.     I  show  him 
you?' 

"It  was  a  long  antique-silver  chain,  the  great 
flat  links  being  beautifully  filigreed.  But  it  was  not 
what  my  friend  wanted,  so  I  bought  it  for  Nancy. 
Then  the  shop-keeper  looked  wistful. 

"  'Ain't  I  got  it  what  you  like?  Tell  me  what 
for  you  want  him?' 

"My  friend  replied:  'For  my  wife.  She  goes 
to  balls  and  like  pearls,  or  other  stones,  in  a  neck- 
lace.' 

'  'Ah,  ha !  I  got  yust  what  you  like.  A  pearl 
necklace  vot  come  in  las'  veek  wid  a  lot  of  odder 
fine  tings.'  Then  the  old  man  rooted  around  under 
the  counter  until  he  found  the  tray  he  wanted.  It 
was  coated  with  dust  from  the  floor,  but  he  blew 
this  off*  and  carelessly  placed  the  heaped-up  tray 
before  us. 

"Such  a  tangle  of  all  kinds  of  jewelry  I  never 
did  see!  Finally  I  got  the  string  of  pearls  free 
from  the  snarls  of  ordinary  glass  beads  and  other 
trash,  and  handed  it  over  to  my  friend.  He  curled 
a  lip  in  scorn  at  the  soiled  trinket. 


68  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"  'Avery,  drive  a  bargain  with  him  for  this.  I 
honestly  think  those  pearls  are  quite  good.  Let 
me  rub  one  up  on  my  sleeve,  while  you  draw  the 
fellow's  attention  from  what  I  am  doing/  I 
whispered. 

"While  Avery  tried  to  bargain,  I  cleaned  up  one 
of  the  gems  and  felt  sure  they  were  unusually  good 
even  for  artificial  pearls. 

"We  actually  bought  the  string  for  twelve  dol- 
lars, but  my  friend  feared  lest  he  had  been  taken 
in.  So  I  smiled  and  said :  'Leave  them  with  me 
and  I'll  see  that  they  are  polished  up  like  new  by 
to-morrow  night.  I'll  take  them  to  an  old  jew- 
eler down  the  street  and  have  them  washed  and 
the  gold  links  cleaned.  Your  wife  won't  know  but 
that  they  came  from  Tiffany's. 

"Avery  laughed  and  left  them  with  me.  So  I 
hurried  down  to  Union  Square  and  showed  them 
to  the  old  jeweler  I  knew,  there. 

"He  puckered  his  brow  at  first,  then  ran  for  his 
magnifying  glasses.  After  an  unusually  keen  in- 
spection he  called  to  his  associate.  Both  of  them 
then  examined  the  string  most  carefully,  and  the 
old  man  finally  looked  up. 

'  'If  I  didn't  know  you  to  be  an  honest  man  I 
should  say:  "Where  did  you  steal  them?" — but  I 
will  ask :  'How  came  you  by  these  ?' 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!         69 

"I  was  astonished,  as  you  may  know,  but  I  tried 
to  appear  wise,  so  I  laughingly  replied :  'They  are 
not  mine,  my  dear,  sir.  I  only  wish  they  were !  I 
just  got  them  from  a  friend  to  have  someone,  who 
is  responsible,  clean  them  nicely.  I  must  hand 
them  back  as  soon  as  you  have  finished.' 

'  'Mr.  Fabian,  I  can't  undertake  such  a  job.  I 
have  no  bonded  man  to  do  such  work  and  I  dare 
not  send  them  out.  They  may  be  substituted,  you 
know.' 

"Then  I  couldn't  help  saying:  'My  good  man! 
You  don't  value  them  so  highly  as  that,  do  you? 
Why,  I  carried  them  downtown  in  my  pocket !' 

"  'Ha,  ha !'  he  laughed,  'I  never  saw  a  better 
matched  string  of  perfect  pearls  in  my  life  and  I 
am  nigh  onto  sixty.  If  I  had  to  handle  that  neck- 
lace, I  should  instantly  insure  it  with  a  broker  for 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars.' 

"Fancy,  my  friends,  how  I  felt!  My  knees  gave 
way  and  I  had  to  sit  down.  I  loosened  my  collar 
which  seemed  suddenly  to  grow  too  tight,  but  I 
couldn't  say  a  word." 

Polly  and  Eleanor  stood  listening  with  eyes 
bulging  and  mouths  half-open.  Anne  and  her 
mother  were  also  deeply  interested. 

Mr.  Fabian  smiled  to  himself  before  he  con- 
tinued his  tale,  "Well,  I  took  the  pearls  and  hailed 


?o  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

a  taxi.  I  was  taken  to  Tiffany's,  and  asked  for  the 
manager,  at  once.  Of  course  they  wanted  to 
know  why  I  wished  to  see  him,  and  I  said,  cou- 
rageously: 'To  turn  over  a  valuable  pearl  neck- 
lace and  insure  it  for  a  hundred  thousand.' 

"That  brought  the  manager  running.  We  went 
to  a  small  private  room  and  I  placed  the  string  of 
pearls  before  him.  He  took  it  carefully,  exam- 
ined it  casually,  then  more  minutely.  He  seemed 
perturbed  and  got  up.  'Don't  leave  this  room  and 
do  not  allow  anyone  to  come  in  and  see  it.  I'll  be 
back  in  a  moment  with  our  expert.' 

"I  felt  sure,  then,  that  Avery  had  actually  found 
a  real  bargain.  But  I  never  dreamed  of  getting 
anything  out  of  it  for  myself.  The  manager  re- 
turned with,  not  only  the  gem  expert,  but  also  with 
the  president  of  the  company.  He  closed  the  door 
and  locked  it. 

"The  gem  expert  used  all  sorts  of  tests  on  the 
pearls  and  then  said  in  a  trembling  tone :  'M'sieur, 
I  see  like  I  nevair  saw  in  my  life !  A  string  of 
perfect  match  pearls,  each  one  well  worth  a  for- 
tune. But  I  see  more,  M'sieu!  I  will  bring  my 
acid  to  clean  the  engraved  clasp  set  with  diamonds. 
Maybe  we  find  interesting  fack.' 

"Everyone  felt  nervous  during  the  intermission 
granted  us,  but  we  said  not  a  word  to  each  other. 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!         71 

Then  the  Frenchman  returned.  He  was  so  care- 
ful, almost  reverent,  I  should  say,  in  touching  and 
cleaning  the  clasp,  that  I  laughed  to  myself  at  the 
memory  of  Old  Izaacs  shelving  the  pearls  with  a 
heap  of  junk,  on  a  tray  that  was  shoved  on  the 
floor  under  a  counter. 

"After  many  minutes  of  impatient  waiting  on 
our  side,  and  as  long  in  a  most  delicate  cleansing 
process  of  the  pearls  on  the  part  of  the  expert,  he 
said :  'Ah !  Now  vee  zee.' 

"He  adjusted  his  eyeglass  and  studied  the  let- 
tering on  the  clasp.  Then  he  jerked  forward  and 
peered  breathlessly  at  it  again.  Suddenly  he 
dropped  the  necklace  upon  the  pad  and  leaned  back 
in  the  chair.  'Mon  Dieu !'  was  all  he  could  gasp. 

"The  president  then  caught  up  the  pearls  and 
adjusted  the  glass  and  studied  the  clasp.  He  also 
gasped  and  turned  pale.  The  manager  took  the 
string  from  his  superior  and  eagerly  read  the  let- 
tering aloud,  'To  my  queen  from  Bonaparte.'  And 
then  followed  the  date  and  year  in  tiny  figures." 

Mr.  Fabian  smiled  as  he  saw  the  impression  his 
story  had  made,  and  waited  to  be  asked  questions 
concerning  the  pearls. 

"Oh,  do  finish  the  story!"  cried  Eleanor. 

"Were  they  really  that  famous  pearl  necklace?" 
asked  Anne. 


72  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

But  Polly  was  too  amazed  to  ask  anything. 

"It  was  the  famous  necklace  of  purest  pearls 
that  had  been  lost  for  the  past  sixty  years.  It  was 
worth  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  at  the  time  it  disappeared.  To-day  it 
would  be  worth  much  more.  But  it  belonged  to 
the  French  Museum,  and  a  reward  of  two  hun- 
dred thousand  francs  had  been  offered  for  trace 
of  it,  or  its  return.  So  long  ago  had  that  reward 
been  recorded  in  every  civilized  land,  that  the  pres- 
ent generation  had  never  heard  of  it — except  in 
history. 

"Well,  I  took  a  receipt  from  Tiffany  for  its 
safe-keeping,  and  they  assured  me  that  they  would 
communicate  with  the  French  Ambassador,  with- 
out delay.  Meanwhile  I  was  to  communicate  with 
my  friend  Avery.  Naturally  I  withheld  all  infor- 
mation as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  necklace  had 
been  discovered. 

"I  went  to  Avery's  office,  immediately,  and 
acted  very  sorry  as  I  said:  'Avery,  if  I  were  to 
tell  you  that  I  lost  that  necklace,  what  would  you 
do  to  me  ?' 

"He  only  laughed  and  said:  Td  make  you  buy 
my  wife  one  as  good,  or  one  she  might  prefer  to 
that  greasy  one !' 

"Then  I  said:    'Avery,  I  never  had,  nor  do  I 


BARGAINS,  EVERYWHERE!         73 

expect  to  have  as  much  money  as  that  necklace  is 
worth!  Man  alive,  it  is  now  in  Tiffany's  safe, 
insured  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, against  fire  or  theft!' 

"I  thought  Avery  would  faint,  but  when  he  had 
managed  to  collect  his  wits,  he  whispered  hoarsely, 
'I  don't  understand — were  they  genuine  pearls?' 

"So  I  told  him  the  story  and  we  both  rushed 
away  to  hire  a  taxi  and  then  we  drove  madly  to 
Tiffany's,  again.  I  introduced  Avery  as  the  owner 
of  the  pearls,  and  he  was  treated  to  a  sight  of  his 
little  twelve-dollar  bargain. 

"Well,  the  upshot  of  it  was,  Avery  received  a 
'present'  of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  from  the 
French  Government,  and  in  return  he  signed  a  re- 
lease for  himself,  his  wife,  his  heirs,  friends,  ac- 
quaintances, and,  in  fact,  every  American  citizen 
in  the  census.  He  was  told  that  he  would  be  held 
responsible,  thereafter,  for  all  claims  or  lawsuits 
instituted  against  France  to  recover  the  necklace. 
And  he  accepted  the  burden,  considering  he  had 
such  a  price  paid  for  the  job. 

"One  day  Izaacs  got  a  present  through  the  mail, 
of  a  draft  for  a  thousand  dollars  and  to  this  day 
he  doesn't  know  who  the  signer  'William  Avery,' 
can  be. 

"My  old  jeweler  on  Union  Square  got  another 


74  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

thousand,  and  I — well,  I  refused  everything,  and 
Avery  called  me  a  numb-skull  and  an  easy  mark ! 
So  he  invested  half  of  all  he  received  in  my  wife 
and  Nancy's  name,  and  that  is  how  they  went  to 
Europe."  Mr.  Fabian  smiled  reminiscently  at  the 
end  of  the  story. 


CHAPTER  V 

FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL 

POLLY  and  her  friends  had  moved  into  the 
Studio  and  were  recovering  from  the  orgy  of  the 
house-warming  given  them  by  the  Evans  and  Lati- 
mers  the  previous  evening,  when  the  two  boys  came 
to  say  good-by. 

"Ah,  come  on,  Nolla — bring  Polly  and  see  us 
to  the  train,"  coaxed  Jim,  watching  the  clock  on 
the  mantel. 

"But,  Jim,  we  honestly  haven't  the  timel  If 
you  knew  all  we  had  to  do  this  week!"  sighed 
Eleanor. 

"Why,  we  could  have  been  there  in  the  time  you 
have  taken  to  explain  how  busy  you  are,"  grumbled 
Jim. 

"Then  get  out !  If  I  have  wasted  so  much  pre- 
cious time  it  is  because  you  stand  there  and  make 
me.  Good-by,  old  pal,  now  scat!"  Eleanor  held 
out  her  hand  and  laughed.  But  Jim  was  not  so 
easily  daunted. 

75 


76  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Where's  Ken  all  this  time?  Oh,  I  say,  Kenl 
Come  on!" 

"I  think  Ken  and  Polly  went  down  the  street 
while  you  two  were  out  in  the  garden  hunting  for 
the  grass,"  said  Mrs.  Stewart,  without  a  smile. 

Jim  laughed.  And  Eleanor  caught  up  her  hat 
from  the  divan  and  ran  to  the  door.  "If  they  go 
away  like  that,  then  you  and  I  will,  too." 

Having  reached  the  corner,  however,  Jim  and 
Eleanor  saw  Ken  and  Polly  intently  studying  some- 
thing held  in  the  latter's  palm. 

"Come  on — we  will  see  what  it  is  they  caught?" 
said  Eleanor. 

"Oh,  Nolla,  see  what  Ken  gave  me  for  a  keep- 
sake. We  found  it  over  at  Old  Izaac's,"  ex- 
claimed Polly,  holding  out  the  strange  trinket  for 
her  friend  to  admire. 

"Why,  it's  a  real  scarab.  Isn't  it  a  beauty," 
said  Eleanor,  then  suddenly  wishing  Jim  had 
thought  of  giving  her  a  keep-sake. 

"That's  why  I  wanted  you  to  come  out  with  me. 
I  told  Ken  you  girls'd  forget  about  us  the  minute 
we  were  out  of  sight,  unless  you  had  something  to 
remind  you  of  us,"  explained  Jim. 

"Come  on,  then,  and  let  Nolla  pick  out  what 
she  wants,"  added  Ken,  laughingly. 

"I'll   take   the   queen's   pearl   necklace!"    and 


FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL  77 

young  hearts  made  merry  of  the  pearls  that  had 
cost  so  many  lives  and  so  much  misery. 

Eleanor  selected  a  peculiar  seal  set  in  a  strange 
stone.  "There,  I  will  use  it  on  the  first  letter  I 
write  you,"  she  said. 

"Now  that  you  are  here,  you  may  as  well  jump 
on  the  car  and  take  us  to  the  train,"  begged 
Jim. 

And  this  time  he  had  his  way.  But  they  did 
not  catch  the  four  o'clock  express  to  New  Haven, 
as  it  was  four-ten  when  they  reached  the  gates  and 
found  them  closed. 

"Now  we'll  have  to  sit  and  talk  until  five," 
laughed  Jim,  exultantly. 

"We'll  do  nothing  of  the  sort!  I  told  you  we 
had  no  time  to  waste  on  you  boys,  and  we  only 
came  thus  far  to  be  polite  in  exchange  for  the 
keep-sakes.  But  you  can  have  them  back  if  you 
think  it  gives  you  the  right  to  order  me  around." 

Eleanor  held  out  the  seal,  but  Jim  looked  for- 
lorn. Then  she  laughed  because  he  felt  bad  at 
her  teasing. 

"Come  now,  Jimmy,  say  good-by  like  an  old 
dear,  and  tell  Polly  and  me  to  run  home." 

"I  wish  you  were  my  sister  1"  sighed  Jim. 

"Your  sister  ?  What  good  would  that  do  you  ?" 
asked  Eleanor. 


78  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Because  you'd  let  me  kiss  you  good-by!"  re- 
torted he. 

They  all  laughed  merrily,  and  Polly  said : 
"You'd  never  want  to  kiss  her  if  she  was  a  sister. 
You  wouldn't  even  have  asked  her  to  come  to  the 
station  with  you." 

"You're  right,  Poll!  Now  I'm  going — good- 
by,  boys!"  and  Eleanor  held  forth  both  hands — 
one  to  each  boy. 

After  many  repeated  good-bys,  the  girls  left  and 
slowly  walked  down  the  avenue.  When  they 
had  reached  the  parkway  that  runs  over  the  car- 
tunnel,  and  is  known  by  the  name  of  Madison  ave- 
nue, Polly  said:  "Why  wouldn't  you  wait  for  the 
train,  Nolla." 

"Because,  Polly,  I  like  both  those  boys  and  I 
don't  want  to  lose  them  so  soon.  If  a  m.ale  thinks 
we  females  will  run  at  beck  and  call  for  them,  they 
quickly  weary  of  such  a  game.  It  is  the  one  who 
refuses  to  be  wound  about  a  finger,  that  always 
keeps  the  beaux  on  a  string." 

Polly  laughed.  "You  are  too  worldly-wise  for 
me.  Now  I  never  should  have  dreamed  of  such  a 
thing." 

"Well,  I'm  right!  One  reason  Bob  never  has 
a  beau  is  just  because  she  shows  how  anxious  she 
is  for  one." 


FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL  79 

"Oh,  no,  Nolla!  The  reason  Bob  hasn't  any 
beaux  is  on  account  of  her  disposition — you  know 
that!" 

"That,  too,  Polly.  But  mostly,  because  she 
throws  herself  at  the  head  of  any  eligible  man.  I 
tell  you,  a  man  won't  have  it  so !" 

"Never  mind,  Nolla.  You  and  I  are  never  go- 
ing to  have  beaux,  so  we  should  worry!  We  will 
marry  our  profession!"  said  Polly. 

The  following  Monday,  Anne  escorted  her  two 
charges  to  the  school  on  West  End  avenue.  It  was 
a  wonderful  Autumn  day  and  the  girls  pictured 
how  beautiful  the  mountains  about  Pebbly  Pit  must 
look  on  such  a  clear  day. 

As  the  Fifth  avenue  bus  was  most  convenient 
for  Polly  and  her  companions,  boarding  it  at  Thir- 
tieth street  and  leaving  it  at  the  corner  of  Seventy- 
second  street  where  West  End  avenue  started 
northward,  they  hacf  but  a  short  walk  to  reach  the 
school. 

Eleanor  had  been  most  particular  with  Polly's, 
and  her  own  appearance,  that  morning.  "For," 
said  she,  "first  impressions  are  lasting.  We  must 
be  sure  and  make  a  favorable  dent  in  these  girls." 

"But  we  don't  know  one  of  them,  Nolla,"  ar- 
gued Polly. 

"All  the  more  reason  why  we  should  take  the 


8o  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

head  of  the  line!"  retorted  Eleanor,  tossing  her 
head. 

Anne  laughed,  and  thought  to  herself,  "They 
will  surely  take  the  head  in  everything,  for  I  never 
saw  two  such  live  girls." 

But  to  Eleanor's  chagrin  the  examinations 
classed  Polly  with  girls  of  fifteen  to  sixteen,  while  , 
she  was  placed  with  girls  of  fourteen  years.  This 
caused  the  temperamental  girl  to  feel  discouraged 
and  she  began  to  blame  her  ill-health  for  her  back- 
wardness. 

In  every*other  way,  Polly  and  she  ranked  equal ; 
and  not  a  girl  in  the  whole  exclusive  school  could 
boast  of  better  or  more  fashionable  dresses  than 
these  two  western  scholars.  Eleanor  was  most 
talkative,  describing  her  home  in  Chicago  and  the 
people  the  Maynards  knew.  Then  she  whispered, 
covertly,  how  rich  Polly  Brewster  was — she  owned 
a  great  gold  mine  all  in  her  own  rights.  She  spoke 
thrillingly  of  Rainbow  Cliffs  and  the  tons  upon  tons 
of  rare  stones  to  be  found  there,  until  every  girl 
sighed  in  envy.  But  Eleanor  failed  to  mention 
that  the  stones  would  have  to  be  cut  and  polished 
before  they  would  be  of  any  use  to  anyone. 

A  few  stray  sentences  of  these  conversations 
reached  Anne's  ears,  and  she  felt  puzzled  to  know  ' 
what  was  best  to  do.     Eleanor  was  not  bragging 


FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL  81 

because  she  needed  place  or  power  in  the  group, 
but  the  teacher  understood  that  she  was  exaggerat- 
ing for  Polly's  sake.  She  wanted  all  the  girls  to 
look  up  to  Polly  as  a  subject  would  to  a  queen. 
She  knew  how  Barbara  had  felt  toward  the  simple 
ranch  people,  and  these  girls  were  of  the  same  ilk 
— Society's  pets.  And  they  could  make  life  un- 
happy for  Polly,  or  a  dream  of  joy. 

That  afternoon,  as  school  closed,  Anne  over- 
heard one  of  the  girls  repeating  Eleanor's  words, 
but  they  had  not  lost  in  the  repetition.  In  fact, 
Anne  was  sure  Eleanor  did  not  say  quite  all  that 
she  was  credited  with.  On  the  way  to  the  Studio, 
therefore,  she  determined  to  speak  to  Eleanor 
about  the  matter. 

"Eleanor,  you  seemed  to  make  a  bushd  of 
friends  without  any  trouble,"  said  Anne. 

"I  always  do.  It's  best  to  have  done  with  it, 
and  then  you  can  sift  out  those  you  don't  like, 
afterward,"  laughed  Eleanor. 

"How  about  you,  Polly?"  questioned  Anne. 

"I  was  too  busy  with  my  lessons  to  bother  about 
anyone,  but  I  thought  the  girls  acted  rather  queer 
this  afternoon.  I  caught  some  of  them  whispering 
about  me,  and  some  were  casting  envious  glances 
my  way.  I  can't  understand  why  they  should?" 

Eleanor  gasped.     Here  was  a  danger  she  had 


82  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

not  thought  of.  She  wouldn't  risk  Polly's  peace 
or  popularity  for  anything  in  the  world,  but  she 
may  have  unconsciously  done  just  that  very  thing! 

"I  heard  some  of  the  girls  talking  of  your  gold 
mine  and  Rainbow  Cliffs,  and  I  wondered  if  you 
had  made  such  close  friends,  so  soon,"  ventured 
Anne,  guilefully. 

"Oh,  /  did  that!  Nothing  like  putting  on  a*lot 
of  'dog'  if  you  want  to  make  a  splash  in  the  pud- 
dle," hastily  explained  Eleanor. 

Anne  felt  like  laughing  but  she  hid  her  face, 
and  Polly  turned  pale  with  annoyance. 

"Why,  Nolla !  How  could  you  ?  You  know 
I'd  rather  be  considered  a  nobody  than  stand  in  a 
false  light.  Now  what  can  I  do  to  clear  this  up?" 

"It  isn't  false  light  at  all,  Polly.  You  can't  do 
anything  now  without  making  me  out  a  fibber," 
retorted  Eleanor. 

"You  are  acting  just  like  your  sister  Bob  might 
have  done!  That's  the  worst  thing  I  can  say  to 
you"  scorned  Polly. 

"And  I  did  it  all  for  you,  too!"  whimpered 
Eleanor. 

"Didn't  I  tell  you,  back  at  Pebbly  Pit,  that  I 
wanted  to  cut  my  own  cloth  ?  For  goodness'  sake, 
don't  interfere  in  my  private  life  again!" 

"But  you've  got  to  let  folks  know  you're  some- 


FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL  83 

one,  or  you  will  never  climb  to  the  top  of  the 
heap,"  argued  Eleanor,  stubbornly. 

"I  have  my  own  method  of  reaching  the  top, 
Eleanor,  and  it  is  not  that  way.  I  was  Polly  Brew- 
ster  before  you  ever  knew  me  and  I  am  that  same 
Polly  Brewster  even  after  having  a  gold  mine  and 
a  mile  of  lava-jewels  thrust  down  my  throat.  Don't 
say  another  word !" 

Polly  turned  her  back  and  went  to  the  end  seat 
on  the  bus,  leaving  Anne  to  console  poor  Eleanor. 

"Look'a  here,  Anne — did  I  do  anything  so 
awful?" 

"You  made  a  serious  mistake,  Nolla,  when  you 
talked  to  those  strange  girls  about  Polly.  You 
tried  to  make  her  appear  as  if  she  approved  of 
your  method  of  bragging  about  the  mine  and 
money." 

"W-h-y,  I  never  dreamed  of  such  a  thing!  I 
only  wanted  these  New  York  girls  to  get  it  straight 
from  the  start  that  our  Polly  of  Pebbly  Pit  was 
'some  punkins';"  Eleanor  tried  to  laugh. 

"And  you  succeeded  in  not  only  humiliating 
Polly,  but  me  also,  because  I  am  responsible  for 
both  of  you,  to  a  certain  degree." 

"Humiliate  Polly  and  you!"  gasped  Eleanor. 

"Exactly  what  you  did.  I  have  been  placed  in 
command  of  this  little  family,  and  the  first  day  at 


84  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

school,  you  deliberately  thrust  yourself  forward — 
take  my  place,  so  to  speak — and  tell  all  the  strang- 
ers there  who  Polly  is,  and  who  you  and  I  are.  In 
fact,  you  give  out  information  that  should  come 
only  from  me." 

"I'm  sorry,  but  for  goodness'  sake  let's  drop  it, 
now." 

"We'd  better  settle  the  matter  once  for  all, 
Nolla,  before  we  drop  it.  If  Polly  and  you  are  ta 
continue  the  wonderful  friendship  begun  this  Sum- 
mer at  the  ranch,  you  must  never  again  say,  or  do 
anything,  that  trespasses  on  her  rights.  Remem- 
ber that  each  one  of  us  has  an  individual  right  to 
impart  what  we  like  about  our  private  affairs — be 
it  family  or  fortune.  But  the  moment  another 
speaks  for  us,  then  it  becomes  gossip  and  scandal 
on  the  part  of  that  impertinent  one. 

"I  do  not  propose  having  my  time  and  thoughts 
disturbed  by  any  inharmony  rising  between  you 
two  girls,  and  if  another  occasion  comes  up,  when 
Polly  and  you  disagree  as  you  have  to-day,  I'll 
wire  to  your  father  to  come  and  take  you  home. 
If  Polly  is  to  blame,  then  I'll  send  her  home.  But, 
thus  far,  it  is  you  who  trespassed  on  Polly's  rights. 

"If  you'll  think  this  over  quietly,  and  without 
prejudice,  I'm  sure  you'll  agree  that  I  am  just  and 
right  in  my  stand." 


FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL  85 

That  evening,  Eleanor  apologised  to  Anne  and 
Polly  for  her  thoughtless  impulse  that  day,  and 
fervently  prayed  that  she  never  be  tempted  to  open 
her  lips  again. 

It  was  not  Polly's  nature  to  sulk  or  remember 
unpleasant  episodes,  so  everything  went  along 
smoothly  after  that  first  day  at  school. 

Tuesday  evening  Mr.  Fabian  called,  and  was 
welcomed  to  his  erst-while  fireside.  During  that 
visit,  it  developed  that  he  had  accepted  an  offer 
which  several  of  his  friends  had  urged  upon  him. 
He  was  to  teach,  three  times  a  week,  a  class  in  art 
designing  at  Cooper  Union  Institute.  And  before 
he  said  good-night  to  the  ladies,  it  had  been  sug- 
gested and  settled,  that  Polly  and  Eleanor  were 
to  join  the  evening  classes  on  the  three  nights  a 
week  that  their  friend  taught  at  the  school. 

Mrs.  Stewart  worried  lest  the  girls  would  be 
wearing  themselves  out  with  too  much  study.  But 
it  was  found  that  the  work  in  the  art  classes  under 
Mr.  Fabian's  watchful  eye,  was  a  pleasure  rather 
than  a  study  or  work. 

Thus  they  started  to  build  on  a  firm  foundation, 
and  by  degrees  they  mastered  the  rudiments  of 
geometrical  drawing,  then  went  on  to  ornamental 
designing,  next  taking  up  the  study  of  architecture 
in  so  far  as  it  applied  to  interior  decorating,  and 


86 

at  the  end  of  the  year  they  were  drawing  free  hand 
and  perspective  sketches.  But  that  was  not  until 
the  school  term  was  almost  over. 

By  the  end  of  the  first  week  at  Mrs.  Welling- 
ton's school,  the  girls  had  chosen  their  friends  for 
the  term.  It  was  most  interesting  to  Anne  to  note 
that  a  certain  social  element  looked  up  to  Eleanor 
as  their  natural  leader,  while  the  quiet  persistent 
sort  silently  fell  in  line  with  Polly.  Both  girls 
were  admired  and  heartily  liked,  by  teachers  as 
well  as  scholars,  but  there  was  one  disturbing 
young  lady  who  resented  the  usurping  of  her 
former  undisputed  sway  in  the  school  by  the  two 
new-comers. 

Elizabeth  Dalken  was  the  pretty,  but  vain 
daughter  of  a  superficial  society  woman  who 
thought  of  nothing  but  self-indulgence,  leaving  the 
training  of  her  child  to  Fate.  Hence,  Elizabeth 
was  the  usual  product :  selfish,  proud,  arrogant  and 
hypocritical.  She  was  but  fifteen,  yet  she  could 
slyly  cheat  at  bridge,  smoke  her  mother's  ciga- 
rettes, and  flirt  with  the  men  who  frequented  her 
home,  as  cleverly  as  her  mother  could. 

For  two  previous  years  she  had  taken  the  reins 
of  leadership  at  Wellington's  school  and  she  had 
returned  the  third  Fall  fully  expecting  to  resume 
her  authority. 


FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL  87 

To  learn  that  a  western  ranch-girl  without  a 
record  in  "Who's  Who,"  and  a  mere  Chicago 
Miss,  governed  her  former  subjects,  turned  Eliza- 
beth white  with  rage.  She  could  say  nothing 
about  it,  however,  without  starting  her  school 
friends'  teasing  and  laughing  at  her  downfall.  And 
she  could  not  leave  the  school,  because  her  mother 
had  deserted  her  husband.  He  was  the  cashier  for 
all  the  luxuries  Mrs.  Dalken  and  her  daughter  in- 
dulged themselves  in,  and  he  had  selected  Welling- 
ton's school  for  the  girl,  and  had  paid  the  tuition 
fee  in  advance,  so  it  stood  to  reason  that  he  would 
not  consent  to  a  change,  now,  on  account  of  her 
jealousy. 

So  on  that  first  Friday  evening,  upon  leaving 
school,  Elizabeth  promised  herself  that  she  would 
"get  square"  with  those  "two  nobodys"  in  short 
order !  She  would  show  those  other  girls  at  Mrs. 
Wellington's  just  who  she  was,  and  why  they 
should  have  kept  her  as  their  leader! 

But  the  western  girls  were  not  shamming  their 
lovable  characters,  and  as  time  went  on,  their  com- 
panions appreciated,  more  and  more,  the  sterling 
qualities  in  their  chosen  leaders.  Thus  Elizabeth 
found  it  no  easy  task  to  influence  the  girls  against 
them. 

October  passed  and  November  began,  with  the 


88  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

girls  at  Mrs.  Wellington's  planning  for  a  Thanks- 
giving entertainment  to  close  their  school  for  the 
holiday.  Here  Polly  was  discounted,  as  she  had 
never  taken  part  in  amateur  theatricals,  and  knew 
nothing  about  them.  Had  anyone  asked  her  to  dif- 
ferentiate between  the  Tuscan,  Doric,  Ionic,  Corin- 
thian or  Composte  order  of  classic  periods  of 
architecture,  she  could  have  described  either,  or  all 
of  them,  almost  as  well  as  Mr.  Fabian  himself 
could  do.  But  the  scholars  at  Mrs.  Wellington's 
never  dreamed  of  Polly's  ambition  and  knowledge 
along  such  lines  of  study. 

So  Elizabeth  found  herself  the  one  to  whom 
everyone  appealed  about  costumes,  parts,  and  the 
general  management  of  affairs.  Eleanor  resented 
the  obvious  fact  that  she  was  completely  ignored 
when  the  various  important  parts  were  distributed, 
but  Polly  never  gave  it  a  thought. 

"We  couldn't  accept  a  part,  anyway,  Nolla, 
with  all  the  time  we  have  planned  to  give  to  exhibi- 
tions and  lectures,  this  month,"  Polly  reminded 
her. 

"And  your  Daddy  will  be  visiting  New  York 
that  last  week,  Nolla,  and  you  must  devote  your 
spare  time  to  his  entertainment — not  be  fussing 
with  a  lot  of  girls  over  a  silly  poem,"  added  Anne. 

Thus  the  sharp  sting  was  withdrawn  and  Elea- 


FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL  89 

nor  forgot  all  about  her  injured  feelings.  But 
Elizabeth  Dalken  believed  she  was  merely  pre- 
tending that  she  felt  no  grudge  against  the  Direc- 
tor of  the  Play.  And  it  gave  Elizabeth  great 
satisfaction  to  believe  she  had  actually  offended 
the  two  popular  western  girls. 

During  November  afternoons,  and  on  several 
evenings,  Mr.  Fabian  took  the  three  friends  to 
the  Metropolitan  Museum  where  wonderful  ex- 
hibits of  private  collections  were  given.  Here 
every  New  Yorker  was  admitted  free  to  see  genu- 
ine antiques  of  furniture,  paintings,  tapestries  and 
rugs,  plate  and  ornaments.  And  with  such  a  mar- 
velous judge  to  escort  them  about  and  explain  de- 
tails that  might  have  escaped  other  than  his  know- 
ing eye,  Anne  and  her  two  charges  felt  well  repaid 
for  their  time.  It  proved  not  only  instructive  but 
very  absorbing — these  personal  talks  with  Mrk 
Fabian  about  the  rare  and  ancient  articles. 

Valuable  volumes  treating  on  subjects  which 
most  aspirants  of  art  are  acquainted  with,  began 
to  fill  the  shelves  in  the  rooms  on  the  first  floor  of 
the  stable-studio;  and  quite  often,  Mr.  Fabian 
brought  in  a  "treasure"  he  had  picked  up  at  a 
second-hand  book  shop.  He  would  read  aloud  in 
a  cultivated  voice,  such  bits  as  he  thought  would 
interest  young  and  ambitious  girls.  Then,  after 


<9o  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

he  had  bid  his  hostesses  good-night,  he  generally 
left  the  volume  behind. 

Perhaps  the  very  fact  that  Polly  and  Eleanor 
seemed  to  be  apart  from  the  other  school-girls 
and  their  pastimes,  made  them  all  the  more  desir- 
able to  court.  Not  but  that  the  two  western  girls 
liked  fun  and  frolic  as  much  as  anyone,  but  they 
seemed  always  to  have  engagements  with  people 
the  school-girls  had  never  met,  nor  heard  of. 

Now  and  then,  Mrs.  Wellington  took  her  girls 
to  a  matinee,  and  then  Polly  and  Eleanor  laughed 
and  enjoyed  the  play  as  heartily  as  the  others.  But 
while  other  school-girls  were  foolishly  mincing  up 
and  down  the  Peacock  Allies  of  the  large  hotels, 
and  sipping  tea  in  company  with  young  men,  the 
two  girl  chums  were  eagerly  listening  to  a  lecture 
given  at  one  of  the  art  buildings,  or  admiring  a 
private  collection  only  open  to  the  public  for  a 
few  afternoons. 

A  few  days  before  Thanksgiving,  Mr.  May- 
nard  arrived  and  then  the  routine  of  the  girls' 
daily  life  suddenly  changed. 

Eleanor  insisted  upon  her  father  taking  her 
reom  while  she  went  to  Polly's  chamber  to  sleep 
upon  the  day-bed  there.  Mr.  Maynard  wanted  to 
remain  at  the  hotel  to  save  the  girls  any  incon- 


FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL  91 

venience,  but  the  girls  would  not  hear  of  his  being 
away  from  Eleanor. 

The  school  play  was  scheduled  for  the  Tuesday 
evening  before  Thanksgiving  Day.  But  ail  the 
ball-rooms  and  other  auditoriums,  had  been  en- 
gaged weeks  before  November,  so  Mrs.  Welling- 
ton had  to  take  what  she  could  get,  or  postpone 
the  date  of  the  play.  Elizabeth  Dalken  was  de- 
termined to  have  it  on  the  evening  set,  and  so  the 
poor  lady  started  again,  to  seek  for  some  available 
hall,  with  Elizabeth  accompanying  her.  Finally 
they  secured  a  small  assembly  hall  near  Central 
Park  West,  but  it  was  far  from  being  desirable 
for  the  girls. 

The  dirty  walls  had  to  be  hidden  beneath  flags 
and  bunting,  and  the  tarnished  gas  chandeliers  had 
to  be  covered  with  crepe  paper.  The  crude  stage 
was  decorated  with  pine  branches  and  palms,  and 
in  places  where  the  doors  or  windows  were  lo- 
cated, (minus  the  doors,)  the  girls  grouped  palms 
and  evergreens,  so  that  the  hall  looked  quite  in- 
viting before  evening. 

A  bevy  of  happy  girls  superintended  the  decora- 
tions while  butlers,  grooms,  and  even  the  chauf- 
feurs, did  the  hard  work.  Polly  and  Eleanor 
joined  the  merry  group  and  instantly  offered  to 


92  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

work,  but  Elizabeth  Dalken  scorned  their  assist- 
ance. 

"People  who  live  in  a  stable  can  know  nothing 
about  decorating!"  she  said,  insultingly. 

Polly  sent  her  a  glance  of  pity,  but  Eleanor  re- 
torted: "Stable!  Well,  the  richest  and  most  re- 
spected banker  of  Chicago  is  visiting  us  in  that 
stable !  And  he  is  my  very  own  father,  too !  If 
you  were  out  there,  now,  I'd  hate  to  think  of  what 
we'd  do  to  you!" 

Elizabeth  sneered  and  was  about  to  reply,  but 
Polly  dragged  her  friend  away,  forcibly,  and  they 
were  soon  leaving  the  room. 

Mrs.  Wellington  had  been  thoroughly  enjoying 
her  conversation  with  the  pleasant  banker  from 
Chicago,  and  now  she  smilingly  said:  "I  can 
readily  see  where  Eleanor  gets  her  common  sense 
and  pleasing  manners." 

Mr.  Maynard  laughed  and  watched  the  two 
girls  hurry  over  to  join  him.  A  glance  at  his 
daughter's  face,  however,  told  him  that  something 
had  gone  wrong,  but  Mrs.  Wellington  hoped  to 
check  the  complaint  at  that  moment.  She  sud- 
denly turned  her  head,  seemed  to  hear  someone 
call,  and  then  spoke  to  Polly. 

"Come  with  me,  dears,  I  believe  we  are  wanted 
in  the  dressing  rooms.'* 


FIRST  DAYS  AT  SCHOOL  93 

Once  out  of  ear-shot  of  Mr.  Maynard,  she 
whispered :  "Oh,  do  not  allow  Eleanor  to  say  one 
word  to  her  father  that  will  spoil  everything.  I 
will  look  into  this  matter  myself  after  to-night. 
But  so  much  depends  on  this  play  going  smoothly, 
and  how  can  it  if  some  one  causes  an  explosion?" 

Polly  felt  sorry  for  poor  Mrs.  Wellington,  for 
she  really  did  have  a  hard  life  of  it,  trying  to  keep 
peace  continually  where  so  many  girls  were  con- 
cerned. And  she  promised  to  try  and  calm  Elea- 
nor's fury  and  determination  to  oust  Elizabeth 
Dalken  from  the  Wellington  School  for  Young 
Ladies. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  PLAY 

OF  the  sixty  odd  pupils  in  Mrs.  Wellington's 
school,  at  least  fifteen  of  them  were  to  participate 
in  the  play.  There  was  to  be  a  Chorus  of  six  girls, 
and  a  Ballet,  besides  the  principals  who  also  acted 
the  drama  to  follow.  Consequently  the  represen- 
tative scholars  not  appearing  on  the  stage,  had 
been  asked  to  act  as  ushers;  and  general  super- 
visors of  harmony. 

Mr.  Fabian  and  Mr.  Maynard  conducted  Anne 
and  her  mother  to  the  seats  reserved  for  them,  and 
soon  the  friends  and  families  of  the  scholars  filed 
in  and  took  their  seats.  As  the  hall  was  generally 
used  for  other  purposes,  the  floor  was  not  graded, 
and  the  seats  were  not  attached  to  the  floor.  They 
were  ordinary  wooden  folding  chairs  to  be  piled 
up  at  the  end  of  the  performance. 

The  pianist  and  other  music  teachers  from 
school  formed  the  orchestra,  and  their  opening 
number  was  rendered  so  well  that  an  encore 
followed. 

94 


FOLLY  STAGGERED  OUT  OF  THE  DOOR  CARRYING  ELIZABETH 

ON  HER  SHOULDER. 
PMy  in   New  York.  PaZe  101 


J 


THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  PLAY         95 

Eleanor  whispered  comically  to  Polly,  as  they 
stood  in  the  entrance  door:  "Maybe  the  friends 
hope  to  postpone  the  acting  a  little  longer." 

When  the  curtain  was  drawn  aside  and  the  first 
act  of  the  playlet  began,  individuals  in  the  audi- 
ence became  interested  in  watching  their  own  girls 
in  the  troupe.  The  Chorus  did  very  well,  and  the 
Ballet  danced  as  gracefully  as  well-taught  girls 
should,  but  once  the  actual  acting  began,  there  was 
a  slight  disappointment  felt  by  the  spectators. 

The  leading  lady  (the  programme  said  it  was 
Miss  Elizabeth  Dalken)  was  the  whole  show.  She 
managed  to  keep  in  the  lime-light  even  when  she 
was  not  speaking,  or  acting  a  part.  And  so  much 
of  one  actress,  whether  good  or  bad,  was  bound  to 
pall  on  the  audience. 

"Polly,  she's  spoiling  the  whole  play!  I  won- 
der the  other  girls  stood  for  it  at  the  rehearsals," 
wnispered  Eleanor. 

"She  didn't  act  that  way,  before,  I'm  sure. 
Marion  King  told  me  all  about  it.  She's  doing  it 
now  just  to  show  off !" 

"Not  to  her  family !  because  not  one  of  her  folks 
are  here.  I  heard  her  tell  Estelle  that  her  mother 
was  going  to  a  fashionable  ball,  and,  of  course, 
her  father  wouldn't  come  because  he  had  no  invi- 
tation from  Elizabeth." 


96  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Well,"  persisted  Polly,  feeling  sorry  for  the 
girl,  "she  must  have  uncles  or  aunts  or  cousins, 
here." 

"She  hasn't  any  in  New  York.  Her  father 
comes  from  upstate  and  his  folks  lived  there.  No 
one  knows  who  her  mother  was,  so  she  hasn't  a 
soul,  here,  but  the  chauffeur.  He's  downstairs 
having  refreshments." 

The  second  act  ended  and  everyone  sighed  in 
relief  because  the  play  was  foolish  and  so  poorly 
acted,  even  for  amateurs.  Mrs.  Wellington  felt 
deeply  hurt  when  she  found  how  Elizabeth  had 
chosen  chums  rather  than  actors  for  the  principal 
parts  in  the  play. 

The  third  act  began,  m  which  Elizabeth  was 
dressed  in  a  spangled  green  ball-gown.  It  was 
very  tight  about  the  ankles  and  very  low  about 
the  neck.  It  was  too  daring,  even  for  a  young  girl 
acting  a  part.  The  gown  had  a  long  swishing  tail 
at  the  back  that  could  have  been  graceful  on  a 
vampire,  but  not  on  this  posing  girl. 

Mrs.  Wellington  shook  her  head  disapprov- 
ingly at  sight  of  Elizabeth,  and  wished,  more  than 
once,  that  she  had  taken  more  time  to  review  the 
actors  and  their  costumes,  before  they  appeared 
in  public. 

The  Assembly  Hall  building  where  the  play 


THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  PLAY         97 

Was  given,  had  four  stories.  The  first  floor  was 
used  for  refreshments,  with  a  kitchen  at  the  back. 
The  second  was  a  billiard  parlor  for  the  use  of 
private  clubs.  The  third  floor  was  given  over  to 
the  Hall,  and  the  fourth  floor  was  turned 
into  dressing-rooms,  card-rooms,  smoking-room, 
et  cetera. 

As  no  late  arrivals  were  expected  after  the  third 
act  had  opened  the  ushers,  placed  at  the  doors, 
closed  them  to  shut  out  the  talking  and  laughing 
in  the  billiard  rooms.  Then  they  sat  down  at 
either  side  of  the  door,  to  watch  the  play. 

The  third  act  was  progressing  slowly,  when  the 
ushers  heard  sounds  of  confusion  coming  from 
down-stairs.  But  they  merely  exchanged  glances 
and  thought  some  men  were  quarreling  over 
a  game  of  billiards. 

Soon  afterward,  a  faint  odor  and  a  haze  of 
smoke  penetrated  through  the  chinks  of  the  doors, 
and  Polly  jumped  up  quickly  to  investigate.  The 
moment  she  opened  a  door,  however,  a  thick  cloud 
of  smoke  poured  in.  She  had  to  cough,  but  she 
remembered  to  instantly  slam  the  door  again. 

The  other  girls  saw  the  smoke  and  a  panic  might 
have  followed,  had  not  Anne  immediately  jumped 
upon  the  stage  and  shouted : 

"Remember — do  not  lose  your  heads!    That  is 


98  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

the  only  danger.  We  can  all  get  out  safely  if 
everyone  will  be  calm  and  orderly." 

Mr.  Maynard  took  Mrs.  Stewart  with  one  arm, 
and  caught  Eleanor  in  his  other,  then  called  to  Mr. 
Fabian  to  do  the  same  with  Anne  and  Polly.  But 
there  was  such  a  dense  mob  at  the  only  exit  doors, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  force  a  way  through  there, 
and  the  heavy  smoke  was  now  rapidly  filling  the 
hall. 

To  add  to  the  scene  of  fear  and  confusion,  the 
women  in  the  assembly  cried,  some  screamed,  the 
girls  ran  back  and  forth,  and  the  men  were  vent- 
ing their  fears  in  calling  upon  Deity, — some 
scarcely  audible,  and  others  in  shrill  screams  of 
excitement. 

Outside,  one  could  hear  the  mingled  calls  and 
shouts  of  onlookers,  the  clanging  of  bells  on  the 
engines,  and  the  yells  of  the  people  who  had  es- 
caped and  wanted  to  help  their  friends  out.  There 
were  four  front  windows  of  the  hall  where  the 
school  entertainment  was  being  given,  but  these 
were  now  jammed  with  women  who  sought  that 
way  to  gain  a  breath  of  air,  but  were  too  timid  to 
jump  out  to  the  street;  and  there  were  no  fire- 
escapes  to  be  found.  The  hallways  and  several 
doors  opening  to  them,  were  a  pitiful  sight.  The 
men,  women,  and  children  were  crying,  jostling, 


THE  NIGHT.  OF  THE  PLAY        99 

and  stampeding  each  other  in  their  vain  efforts  to 
get  out  and  find  the  stairway  in  the  dense  smoke 
that  kept  pouring  up  from  below. 

Mr.  Fabian  saw  the  panic  and  realized  that  his 
friends  must  seek  a  rear  exit,  or  remain  until  the 
tardy  firemen  brought  the  ladders  up  to  the  build- 
ing to  help  them  out.  So  he  hurried  to  the  door 
back  of  the  stage.  It  had  escaped  the  frightened 
eyes  of  others.  Having  learned  that  this  door 
opened  upon  an  entry  that  ran  to  a  rear  window, 
he  next  discovered  the  usual  fire-escape  that  ran 
down  to  the  yard,  and  up  to  the  roof.  It  took  him 
but  a  moment  to  assure  himself  that  the  escape 
was  safe,  then  he  rushed  back. 

"This  way !  Follow  me — everyone  1"  he  shouted 
to  his  friends. 

They  all  hurried  to  the  window  and  Mr.  Fa- 
bian  went  first,  in  order  to  assist  the  ladies  out  to 
the  iron-slatted  platform,  and  then  to  start  them, 
sure-footed,  on  the  upward  climb  of  the  narrow 
iron  steps. 

Mrs.  Stewart  went  first,  but  she  was  so  nervous 
that  Mr.  Fabian  followed  closely  behind  her  to 
steady  her  trembling  form.  Anne  followed  after 
her  mother  in  climbing  through  the  window,  and 
Mr.  Maynard  followed  her.  The  two  girls  were 
about  to  climb  out  on  the  platform  when  they 


ioo  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

heard  a  moan,  and  then  a  shrill  cry,  from  the  smali 
dressing-room  back  of  the  stage. 

Anne  ordered  the  girls  to  come  out,  but  Polly 
turned  and  ran  back.  Eleanor  followed,  and 
Anne,  distracted,  climbed  back,  too. 

"Nolla,  tie  something  over  your  mouth  and  nose 
1 — use  your  chiffon  scarf,"  commanded  Polly,  wind- 
ing a  wide  silk  sash  about  her  own  head. 

The  girls  groped  along  the  entry  but  could  not 
distinguish  a  thing  in  the  thick,  choking  haze.  Then. 
Polly  came  to  the  dressing-room  back  of  the  stage. 
This  was  comparatively  clear  from  smoke,  and 
there  the  girls  saw  Elizabeth  Dalken  stretched 
upon  the  floor,  a  cut  in  her  forehead  attesting  to 
the  cause  of  her  sharp  scream. 

"Great  Scott,  Polly!  What  can  we  do  now?" 
cried  Eleanor,  as  the  idea  of  trying  to  carry  the 
girl  up  the  steep  ladder-way  flashed  across  her 
mind  only  to  be  spurned.  She  had  no  idea  of  leav- 
ing her  there  to  her  fate,  however. 

"If  we  only  had  a  rope!"  wailed  Polly. 

"But  we  haven't!  If  I  only  knew  this  house 
better  I  might  find  a  back-stairway.  Most  city 
houses  have  them  and  I  should  think  this  place 
would  have  one." 

"Of  course !  Nolla,  close  this  door  to  keep  out 
smoke.  I'll  look  for  the  stairs." 


THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  PLAY       101 ' 

The  few  excited  sentences  were  muttered 
through  the  mufflers  tied  over  the  girls'  mouths 
and  noses.  Then  both  girls  began  groping  their 
way  to  the  rear,  hunting  for  the  back-stairs. 

The  mass  of  people  that  had  surged  from  the 
Hall  had  made  for  the  wide  front  stairs,  and  but 
few  remembered  to  seek  for  a  back  exit.  And 
these  had  speedily  found  a  way  down.  Polly  and 
Eleanor  also  found  the  narrow  back  stairs,  then 
Polly  hastily  commanded: 

"Run  and  tell  Anne — she  can  call  to  your  Dad 
and  explain.  Then  tell  her  to  come  this  way,  with 
us.  I'll  lift  Elizabeth  over  my  shoulders  and 
start  down  with  her — Anne  and  you  follow,  at 
once!" 

In  another  moment,  Polly  was  back  in  the  dress- 
ing-room while  Eleanor  was  running  for  the  rear 
window  to  advise  Anne.  But  she  found  her  al- 
ready inside  tying  a  veil  over  her  mouth  and  nose- 

"Nolla— where's  Polly?" 

"All  right — come  on !" 

"I  told  your  father — they  are  safe  on  the  roof 
« — hurry  now !" 

Eleanor  led  Anne  through  the  smoke,  and  just 
as  they  reached  the  entry,  Polly  staggered  out  of 
the  stage-door  with  the  unconscious  girl  hanging 
over  her  shoulder. 


102  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Polly!  Polly!  You  never  can  carry  her!" 
cried  Anne,  in  a  smothered  voice  through  the 
veiling. 

But  Polly  kept  her  mouth  closed  and  struggled 
on  to  the  back  stairs.  Anne  began  to  cough  and 
choke  as  a  reward  for  trying  to  speak,  but  she 
reached  the  stairs  first  and  rushed  on  down  to  see 
if  there  was  a  safe  passage  below.  Eleanor  was 
close  upon  her  heels,  and  Polly  followed  more 
circumspectly. 

They  reached  the  kitchen  of  the  house  without 
trouble  but  the  heat  as  they  passed  by  the  second 
floor  was  terrific.  Once  down  on  the  ground  floor 
they  found  the  rear  of  the  place  quite  free  from 
smoke,  but  it  might  only  be  because  the  fire  over- 
head was  blazing  upward.  At  any  moment  the 
wall  or  upper  floors  might  crash  down  and  fall 
upon  them. 

"Nolla — how  can  we  get  out  of  this  pen?"  cried 
Anne. 

"If  the  house  is  anything  like  Chicago's,  I'll 
show  you.  There  must  be  an  area  or  cellar  exit  to 
the  street." 

The  kitchen  light  was  still  burning  but  it  looked 
weird  in  the  smoke-laden  atmosphere.  Eleanor 
tried  different  doors  but  found  that  they  opened 
into  passages  leading  to  closets  or  to  the  front 


THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  PLAY       103 

rooms.  Finally  she  opened  one  and  caught  a  whiff 
of  fresh  uncontaminated  air. 

"Thank  heavens !  Here  it  is,  but  I  don't  know 
where  it  ends." 

Anne  and  she  pushed  out,  with  Polly  behind 
them.  They  were  in  a  dark  alley,  now,  and  had 
to  trust  to  good  fortune  to  come  out  somewhere, 
in  safety.  Down  several  stone  steps,  and  along 
another  dark,  damp  area  they  went,  and  then  Elea- 
nor stumbled  against  a  closed  door. 

"Oh,  mercy!  Are  we  locked  in  here?"  she 
yelled  desperately,  beating  the  door  with  her 
clenched  fists. 

"Nolla — let  me  feel  for  a  handle — you  are 
hysterical !"  cried  Anne,  swiftly  passing  her  hands 
over  the  rough  wood. 

"Hurry,  hurry !  I  can't  carry  this  weight  a  min- 
ute longer!"  breathed  Polly,  hoarsely. 

Just  at  that  moment,  Anne's  hand  struck  an  iron 
bolt.  In  a  second  she  had  shot  it  backwards,  and 
the  heavy  door  swung  open  to  give  them  an  exit 
to  the  side  street. 

All  three  girls  ran  frantically  forward  and  Polly 
dropped  her  heavy  burden  upon  a  grass  strip 
which  edged  the  curb.  Eleanor  sobbed  with  re- 
lief and  Anne  fell  upon  her  knees  in  sident  thanks- 
giving. 


104  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"I'm  off,  girls,  to  see  if  I  can  help,  in  front. 
Have  a  care  for  Elizabeth,"  cried  Polly,  and  away 
she  flew. 

That  silenced  Eleanor's  hysteria  quicker  than 
anything  else,  and  in  another  moment  she  was 
gone  after  her  friend,  leaving  Anne  to  watch  the 
still  unconscious  girl  on  the  grass. 

The  scene  in  front  of  the  building  was  one  of 
spectacular  interest.  Seeing  the  crowds  of  fash- 
ionably-dressed people  grouped  opposite  the  flar- 
ing house,  it  would  seem  that  everyone  of  the 
guests  had  escaped.  But  there  was  a  deafening 
mixture  of  cries  and  shouts  from  every  direction. 
Some  were  crying  for  lost  friends,  some  wailed  for 
help  because  of  injuries  inflicted  by  the  stampede ; 
firemen  signaled  their  associates;  the  old  pro- 
prietor of  the  Hall  ran  madly  to  and  fro  shouting 
and  gesticulating  wildly  to  everyone;  in  fact,  it 
was  a  scene  that  shocked  Polly  to  witness  because 
she  thought  city  people  had  great  presence  of 
mind. 

Streams  of  water  were  pouring  upon  the  flames 
that  shot  from  the  second-story  windows,  but  the 
scaling  ladders  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  the  fire- 
men were  striving  to  enter  the  front  door  in  order 
to  carry  the  hose  nozzle  to  a  more  effectual  spot. 

The  Chief  had  sent  some  men  through  adjacent 


THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  PLAY       105 

houses  to  reach  the  roofs  and  work  downwards 
from  that  vantage  spot.  But  they  had  not  yet  ap- 
peared when  Polly  saw  how  she  could  assist. 

Acting  upon  an  impulse,  and  doing  exactly  as 
she  would  do  if  she  was  witnessing  a  fire  at  Oak 
Creek,  where  the  ranchers  turn  out  and  try  to  sub- 
due the  flames,  Polly  hastily  dropped  the  clinging 
skirt  of  her  evening  dress.  Having  already  re- 
moved the  silk  sash  while  in  the  Hall,  she  now 
dipped  it  in  the  flood  of  water  that  poured  from 
the  hydrant  on  the  curb  and  tied  it  over  her  mouth 
and  nose.  Then  she  made  a  dash  across  the  street. 

She  caught  a  coil  of  rope  from  the  hook  where 
it  hung  on  the  back  of  the  engine,  and  pushed  a 
way  through  the  staring  men.  Before  anyone 
dreamed  of  her  plan,  or  the  firemen  could  restrain 
her  she  had  reached  the  corner  of  the  building  and 
was  agilely  climbing  the  height  by  holding  to  the 
copper  leader. 

A  chorus  of  breathless  gasps  and  frightened 
screams  came  from  the  crowd  but  Polly  heard 
them  not.  She  was  too  intent  on  her  work.  Being 
nimble  and  so  light-weight,  and  thoroughly  accus- 
tomed to  climb  up  almost  perpendicular  cliffs,  or 
along  dizzy  peaks,  this  ascent  seemed  like  play  to 
the  mountain  girl.  But  the  onlookers  were  thrilled 
to  silence  as  they  watched  her  climb  to  the  roof, 


io6  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

and  then  safely  crawl  over  the  ledge.  Instantly 
there  was  such  a  wild  cheer  from  the  street,  that 
Polly  wondered  if  something  dreadful  had  hap- 
pened. She  never  thought  that  the  acclamation 
was  meant  for  her. 

Without  hesitation,  she  ran  over  to  a  nearby 
chimney  and  wound  one  end  of  the  long  rope  about 
it,  then  lowered  the  other  end  to  the  street.  The 
Chief  saw  the  purpose,  at  once,  and  signaling 
back  to  the  girl  who  was  leaning  over  the  edge  of 
the  roof,  he  had  his  men  tie  the  rope  ladder  to  the 
rope.  Then  Polly  began  hoisting  it  slowly,  until 
its  end  came  over  the  cornice. 

Meantime,  when  Eleanor  found  her  friend  half- 
way up  the  building,  clinging  to  the  leader  and 
finding  foothold  in  the  crevices  between  the  bricks, 
or  on  the  steel  bands  that  held  the  metal  pipe  to 
its  moorings,  she  also  ran  across  the  street,  and 
attempted  to  break  through  the  cordon  which  had 
been  formed  to  permit  the  men  to  hold  out  a  life- 
net  in  case  the  daring  climber  should  fall. 

"I  want  to  help  Polly — she  is  my  best  friend!" 
cried  Eleanor,  when  the  fireman  made  her  turn 
back. 

Then  she  remembered  the  rear  entrance  from 
Which  they  had  escaped.  She  turned  to  the  Chief 
and  called  hurriedly :  "Send  some  men  with  me — 


THE  NIGHT  OF  THE  PLAY       107 

I'll  show  them  the  cellar  entrance  where  they  can 
reach  the  roof  and  different  floors  from  the  back!" 

"Hallam!  Colter!  Take  your  equipment  and 
follow  this  girl  to  a  back  door.  You  know  what 
to  do !" 

The  men  detailed  for  this  duty,  beckoned  a  few 
others,  and  all  ran  after  Eleanor  who  now  made 
for  the  area  door.  She  flew  past  Anne  who  was 
holding  Elizabeth's  head  upon  her  lap,  but  forgot 
to  glance  that  way.  Having  gained  the  cellar 
door,  she  was  about  to  go  in  but  Hallam  stopped 
her. 

"No,  Miss — we  dare  not  permit  anyone  to  enter 
a  burning  building,  you  know." 

"Oh,  but  I  want  to  join  Polly  on  the  roof !  The 
only  reason  I  shov/ed  you  this  way  was  to  get 
through  myself!" 

"I'd  lose  my  place  in  the  contest  for  prize 
medals,  Miss,  if  I  broke  rules.  You  wouldn't  want 
me  to  lose  my  promotion?" 

Eleanor  felt  that  he  had  the  best  of  the  argu- 
ment, so  she  very  reluctantly  turned  and  went  back 
to  the  front  of  the  house.  There  she  saw  that  the 
firemen  had  climbed  the  ladder  and  were  stationed 
on  the  roof  and  on  window  ledges,  holding  the 
hose  from  which  the  water  poured  in  torrents  upon 
the  fire  inside. 


io8  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Then  the  multitude  now  gathered  on  both 
streets  and  the  corners  of  the  Parkway,  were 
treated  to  another  thrill.  The  strand  of  rope  Polly 
had  taken  with  her,  was  now  used  by  her  for 
descent.  Down  the  taut  rope  like  a  trained 
monkey,  came  she,  and  safely  jumped  to  the  street. 

Before  she  reached  the  ground  however,  a 
chorus  of  wild  yells  and  hurrahs  went  forth  from 
everyone  in  the  crowd.  The  Chief  called  impera- 
tive orders  to  his  men  waiting  with  him,  and  the 
moment  he  had  caught  Polly,  he  forced  his  way 
across  the  street,  carrying  her  in  his  arms  as  if  she 
were  a  babe. 

His  men  began  climbing  the  rope  ladder  taking 
a  hose  with  them.  From  the  vantage-points 
gained  by  Polly's  courage,  the  firemen  now  kept 
steady  streams  of  water  playing  through  the  open 
windows  upon  the  fire  beneath,  and  thus  managed 
to  subdue  it  before  the  hook-and-ladder  truck 
wheeled  up  beside  the  building. 

The  men,  led  by  Eleanor  to  the  back-stairs, 
directed  their  efforts  from  that  side,  and  soon  the 
whole  second  and  third  floors  became  a  bed  of 
wet  smoldering  embers.  The  rest  of  the  structure 
was  saved. 

It  was  learned,  later,  that  the  club  members  giv- 
ing the  "smoker"  to  friends,  had  been  careless  of 


IO9 

butts  and  papers,  and  thus  the  fire  must  have 
originated. 

The  family  living  in  the  beautiful  house  oppo- 
site the  fire,  took  Polly  in  charge,  and  kept  away 
the  mob  of  curious  people  who  wished  to  see  and 
talk  with  the  heroine. 

Polly  was  all  right,  and  wondered  why  she 
should  be  kept  indoors  when  others  on  the  out- 
side might  need  assistance.  Suddenly  she  remem- 
bered her  discarded  skirt! 

"Oh,  mercy  me !  Did  I  climb  up  that  pipe  look- 
ing like  this?"  she  cried,  blushing  furiously  and 
burying  her  face  in  the  cushions  of  the  divan. 

"My  dear  child !  It  was  a  wonderful  sight !  No 
one  gave  the  slightest  thought  to  your  bloomers. 
But  now  you  shall  have  one  of  Ruth's  skirts,"  re« 
turned  the  lady  of  the  house,  fervently. 


CHAPTER  VII 

MRS.  WELLINGTON'S  THANKSGIVING 

THE  moment  Polly  was  given  a  skirt,  she 
donned  it  gratefully  and  said  to  Mrs.  Ashby,  her 
hostess:  "Now  I  must  find  Elizabeth  and  have 
her  cared  for.  I  left  her  with  Anne." 

"Where — where  is  she?  I'll  send  James  for 
them?  But  I  want  you  to  keep  quiet,  or  you'll  be 
prostrated,  dear  child." 

Polly  smiled — she  prostrated!  But  she  ex- 
plained :  "Anne  is  sitting  on  the  grass  on  the  side 
street  around  the  corner,  taking  care  of  the  girl 
who  fainted  in  the  back-room  of  the  theatre." 

James  was  summoned  from  the  front  window 
where  he  had  been  watching  the  fight  against  the 
fire,  and  now  took  his  orders  eagerly.  Polly 
pointed  out  the  corner  where  she  had  left  her 
friends  and,  in  another  moment,  the  butler  was 
gone. 

"I  s'pose  I  ought  to  go  and  hunt  up  my  friends 
who  escaped  over  the  roofs,"  ventured  Polly.  < 

no 


THANKSGIVING  in 

"You'll  rest  here  upon  this  divan,  or  your 
parents  will  sue  me!"  retorted  Mrs.  Ashby,  try- 
ing to  compel,  with  gentle  hands,  obedience  to  her 
command. 

Polly  laughed  softly.  "My  parents  would  sue 
you  if  you  prevented  me  from  doing  my  duty  to 
others.  Why,  you-all  make  such  a  fuss  over  that 
pipe-climbing,  and  it  is  next  to  nothing  for  a  Rocky 
Mountain  girl.  A  day  in  a  blizzard  on  the  cliffs 
is  ten  times  more  hazardous." 

Mrs.  Ashby  was  consumed  with  curiosity  to  ask 
this  handsome  girl  who  she  was,  and  all  about  her- 
self, but  she  controlled  herself  admirably,  for  she 
knew  her  guest  ought  to  keep  quiet. 

The  door-bell  rang  and  its  echo  pealed  through 
the  house,  but  the  servants  were  out  watching  the 
exciting  events  of  the  fire,  and  James  had  been 
sent  for  the  other  girls.  So  Mrs.  Ashby  opened 
the  door. 

"I  just  heard  that  Polly  Brewster  was  here — 
oh!  is  she  all  right!"  cried  the  excited  voice  of 
Mrs.  Wellington. 

"Right  as  a  trivet,  dear  Mrs.  Wellington!" 
called  Polly  springing  from  the  couch  to  greet  the 
lady. 

"Oh — oh!  Thank  God!  I've  worried  and 
cried  over  you  three  precious  girls  until  my  eyes 


POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

are  blinded !  They  told  me  that  everyone  was  out 
of  the  place  but  you  three  1" 

"Did  everyone  manage  to  escape  safely?"  asked 
Polly,  anxiously. 

"Everyone  got  out,  but  oh !  such  a  panic !  Some 
are  torn,  and  battered  black  and  blue,  from  the 
stampede  down  through  those  front  stairs  and 
hall.  I  don't  believe  a  single  soul  got  out  with  a 
whole  gown!  They  tell  me  it  was  all  the  fault 
of  that  Tool  Club'  on  the  second  floor;  they  gave 
a  'smoker'  to-night,  and  when  the  fire  was  discov- 
ered on  their  floor,  they  caused  the  dreadful 
block  in  the  front  halls." 

"Gowns  are  of  no  account  if  everyone  escaped 
with  life,"  said  Mrs.  Ashby. 

"But  it  is  most  unfortunate  for  me,  just  now. 
The  story  getting  into  the  newspapers,  will  ruin 
my  reputation  as  a  school  principal.  Folks  will 
ask,  'Why  did  she  ever  choose  such  a  place  for 
an  entertainment;'  but  they  will  never  know  that  I 
tried  everywhere  else,  first,  and  found  everything 
engaged  for  this  week.  I  begged  the  girl  who 
started  the  idea  to  postpone  the  play  until  the 
!  week  after  Thanksgiving  holiday,  but  she  stub- 
bornly refused.  So  I  took  what  I  could  get.  I 
dare  not  tell  the  reporters  that  it  was  merely  to 
please  Elizabeth  Dalken,  and  because  Elizabeth's 


THANKSGIVING  113 

father  pays  strictly  in  advance  and  has  his  daughter 
take  all  'extras.' 

"You  have  no  idea  what  it  means  to  me.  I  am 
paying  off  the  mortgages  on  that  house  where  the 
school  is  located,  so  that  I  might  be  able  to  take 
a  deep  breath  before  I  am  too  old  to  work.  But 
this  unhappy  accident  will  ruin  my  reputation  as 
a  careful  superintendent." 

"Elizabeth  Dalken!  I  know  her  father  very 
well,  and  we  think  he  is  one  of  the  finest  of  men. 
,We  seldom  meet  Mrs.  Dalken  or  the  daughter,  as 
we  do  not  belong  to  the  same  set.  Since  Mr. 
Dalken  separated  from  his  wife,  we  have  not  seen 
her  at  all,  but  he  was  here  and  dined  with  us,  this 
very  evening,"  said  Mrs.  Ashby. 

"If  I  could  only  explain  to  him  just  how  this 
happened,  he  might  not  blame  me  for  his  daugh- 
ter's injury." 

"Was  she  hurt?"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Ashby.  Then 
James  came  in,  followed  by  three  girls,  and  the 
adults  who  had  escaped  over  the  roofs. 

"Here  we  are,  Polly — safe  and  sound,"  Mr. 
Maynard's  cheery  voice  greeted  the  girl  who 
jumped  up  at  sight  of  them. 

Excited  cries,  and  hugs,  and  happy  laughs  now 
followed  as  each  one  found  the  others  without  a 
hurt,  Elizabeth  Dalken  being  the  only  one  who 


ii4  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

had  received  an  injury,  and  that  was  merely  a 
flesh-wound  cut  by  the  edge  of  the  door  as  her 
head  struck  it. 

Mrs.  Ashby  took  charge  of  Elizabeth,  and 
washed  her  face;  then  placed  a  strip  of  court  plas- 
ter over  the  cut  to  keep  it  clean. 

The  fire  was  out  and  the  crowd  had  dispersed 
before  the  firemen  finished  their  work  in  and  about 
the  house.  The  Chief  came  to  Mrs.  Ashby's  door 
and  asked  for  the  young  lady  who  was  such  a 
marvellous  climber.  So  he  was  invited  in  to  see 
for  himself. 

"Young  lady,  I  want  to  make  a  record  of  this 
deed,  as  I  have  to  report  everything  to  the  police 
department,  you  know.  And  I  am  proud  to  say, 
our  records  are  never  kept  in  the  dark  when  visi- 
tors come  in  to  see  our  engine  house.  It's  seldom 
we  can  talk  about,  or  show  a  page,  with  such  a 
brave  act  as  yours,  written  upon  it." 

Polly  smiled.  "But  it  really  wasn't  anything  to 
fuss  over.  It  wasn't  dangerous,  you  know,  and  for 
anyone  who  can  climb  as  well  as  I  can,  it  would 
have  been  cowardly  to  stand  by  and  not  act.  You 
needed  a  light,  agile  climber  whose  weight  would 
not  break  that  leader  away  from  the  wall;  and  I 
happened  to  be  that  one." 

The  Chief  and  Mrs.  Ashby  exchanged  glances, 


THANKSGIVING  115 

then  laughed.  "I  guess  it's  no  use  trying  to  make 
a  heroine  of  her — she  won't  have  it  so!"  said  he. 

Then  Eleanor  spoke  up.  "That's  because  she's 
accustomed  to  doing  such  great  deeds  out  in  the 
mountains  where  she  comes  from — walking  on  the 
heads  of  rattle-snakes,  killing  grizzlies  and  lions, 
as  if  they  were  rabbits,  saving  a  lot  of  tenderfeet 
from  blizzards  and  land-slides — these  are  but  a 
few  of  the  little  things  she  does  out  there  1" 

The  New  Yorkers  gasped  in  astonishment,  even 
James,  the  butler,  stood  gaping  with  open  mouth 
at  a  real  live  heroine — never  seen  before  by  him 
except  on  the  movie  screen.  So  intensely  inter- 
ested was  he,  that  he  failed  to  hear  his  master  enter 
by  the  front  door,  followed  by  a  gentleman.  They 
both  burst  into  the  room  and  stood  amazed. 

Then  Mr.  Ashby  apologised  for  the  abrupt  en- 
trance: "Dalken  and  I  were  at  the  Club  when 
we  heard  of  the  fire  so  near  my  place.  And  when 
Dalken  heard  that  it  was  Mrs.  Wellington's 
school-girls  who  were  entertaining  on  the  third 
floor,  he  came  with  me  to  see  if  his  daughter  is 
safe.  Does  anyone  know  where  Elizabeth  is?" 

"Here — right  here,  Mr.  Dalken,"  Mrs.  Ashby 
quickly  assured  the  father.  And  she  beckoned 
Mrs.  Wellington  to  bring  the  girl  from  the  alcove 
where  she  had  been  resting. 


POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"My  poor  little  girl!"  quavered  the  father, 
taking  the  meek  and  broken-spirited  Elizabeth  in. 
his  arms.  "Are  you  badly  hurt?" 

She  began  to  cry  softly  against  his  coat  collar 
but  Mrs.  Ashby  reassured  Mr.  Dalken.  "Only  a 
scratch.  Her  forehead  may  swell  a  bit  and  be  dis- 
colored for  a  few  days,  but  that  is  all.  Elizabeth 
owes  her  life  to  these  two  girls  here,  Mr.  Dalken. 
One  carried  her  out  of  the  building  after  she  had 
fainted,  and  the  other  went  first  and  found  a  way 
down  the  back  stairs." 

"Not  really!"  the  amazed  man  gasped.  "Tell 
me  about  it." 

But  Polly  was  a  poor  narrator,  so  Anne  decided 
to  speak.  She  was  bound  that  Polly  should  not 
belittle  this  deed  as  she  had  the  climbing  to  the 
fourth  floor  of  the  burning  building. 

That  Mr.  Dalken  was  deeply  moved,  everyone 
could  see,  and  when  he  shook  hands  with  the  two 
girls  he  said  gravely,  "I  shall  never  forget  how 
you  kept  me  from  being  childless.  My  baby  boy 
died  three  years  ago  to-night,  and  I  could  not  have 
stood  losing  my  little  girl,  too,  on  the  anniversary 
of  that  sad  experience." 

Elizabeth  then  remembered  the  date  and  hiding 
her  face,  ran  back  to  the  alcove  to  cry  softly  to 
herself.  Mrs.  Ashby  and  Mrs.  Wellington  knew 


THANKSGIVING  117 

the  sad  story,  so  they  allowed  her  to  weep  alone. 
But  Mr.  Dalken,  tender-hearted,  would  have  gone 
to  comfort  the  girl,  had  not  Mrs.  Ashby  placed  a 
detaining  hand  upon  his  arm  and  said:  "No,  dear 
friend — better  leave  her  to  remember  and  realize 
everything." 

Polly  and  Eleanor  saw  and  heard  and  could  not 
understand,  but  they  thought  it  was  no  concern  of 
theirs,  so  they  forgot  it. 

Everyone  had  been  introduced  informally  to 
everyone  else,  and  at  last  Mrs.  Ashby  said:  "I 
have  had  a  bit  of  refreshment  served  for  you,  in 
the  dining  room,  before  you  go  home.  After  such 
exposures  and  excitement,  I  think  we  all  will  need 
something." 

Mr.  Fabian  wished  to  excuse  himself,  but  his 
friends  would  not  hear  of  it.  Then  Mr.  Dalken 
came  over  and  spoke  to  him.  "Are  you  Mr. 
Fabian,  the  artist?" 

"They  say  I  am  an  artist,  but  I  doubt  it,  my- 
self," replied  Mr.  Fabian,  humbly,  but  smiling  at 
the  questioner. 

"Then  I  am  delighted  to  have  met  you,  for  I 
have  a  niece  studying  in  Paris,  and  she  writes  me 
pages  upon  pages  about  Mrs.  Fabian  and  the 
daughter  Nancy,  and  how  lovely  they  have  been 
to  take  her  about  with  them." 


!ii  8  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

His  wife  and  daughter  were  Mr.  Fabian  s  pet 
subject  so  now  he  seemed  to  expand  marvellously, 
and  smiled  benignly  upon  everyone  present.  On 
the  way  to  the  dining-room,  Mr.  Dalken  and  the 
artist  exchanged  heart-to-heart  ideas  and  were 
soon  fast  friends. 

But  scarcely  had  they  seated  themselves  ere 
another  mad  peal  of  the  door-bell  took  James 
from  the  pleasant  task  of  serving  an  impromptu 
supper.  He  was  heard  arguing  with  someone  in 
the  hall,  then  Mrs.  Ashby  turned  to  her  husband 
and  said :  "You  go  and  see  what  is  the  matter." 

After  a  short  time,  three  re-entered  the  room — 
James,  Mr.  Ashby,  and  an  ambitious-looking 
young  man  with  alert  bright  eyes. 

"Representative  from  the  Press  wants  us  to  give 
him  all  the  inside  news  about  the  fire,"  explained 
Mr.  Ashby,  looking  at  the  circle  about  the  table. 

Mrs.  Wellington  turned  pale  and  gazed  be- 
seechingly at  Mr.  Maynard,  hoping  he  could  help 
her  out  in  the  inevitable  story  that  would  be  writ- 
ten up  about  her  school.  But  Mr.  Dalken  saw 
the  look  and  comprehended  immediately. 

"Hello,  Dunlap !  How'd  you  get  this  assign- 
ment from  the  night-editor?" 

"Oh — it's  Mr.  Dalken.     I'm  delighted  to  see 


THANKSGIVING  119 

you,  sir,"  returned  the  reporter,  very  respectfully. 

"Yes,  these  are  friends  of  mine.  Some  of  them 
are  the  dearest  friends  I  have,  so  I  do  not  wish 
them  to  be  annoyed  by  finding  a  garbled  story  in 
the  papers  to-morrow  morning.  Consequently,  I 
will,  with  the  assistance  of  these  friends,  give  you 
the  facts,  simple  and  straightforward,  but  see  that 
you  add  nothing  to  them  nor  delete  a  line.  Tell 
your  boss  that  I  said  so  1" 

"I  sure  will,  Mr.  Dalken,  and  maybe  I  won't 
be  the  thankful  guy  if  you  tell  me  the  story !  Can 
I  say  it  came  from  you?"  was  the  eager  reply  of 
the  man  Dunlap. 

"No,  sir !  I  am  not  in  this  at  all,  except  as  one 
who  rushed  here  to  help  friends.  Now  this  is  the 
story  for  your  paper." 

Mrs.  Wellington  had  been  anxiously  whisper- 
ing to  Mr.  Fabian,  and  the  latter  now  secured  Mr. 
Dalken's  attention.  "May  I  have  a  word  with 
you,  in  private,  before  the  reporter  takes  down 
any  notes?" 

Out  of  hearing  of  the  others,  Mr.  Fabian  then 
explained  that  Elizabeth  had  stubbornly  refused 
to  postpone  the  entertainment,  and  because  of  her 
insistence,  Mrs.  Wellington  had  taken  whatever 
hall  she  could  find.  But  she  did  not  want  Eliza- 


120  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

beth  to  be  made  to  bear  any  of  the  blame,  so  she 
wants  you  to  touch  wisely  on  anything  that  has  to 
do  with  the  theatricals. 

"I  certainly  appreciate  Mrs.  Wellington's 
thoughtfulness  and  I  will  remember  this.  I'll  see 
what  can  be  done  with  Dunlap." 

"Mr.  Dalken  is  a  born  story-teller,  Dunlap,  and 
that  is  why  he  is  so  popular,  I  think,"  remarked 
Mr.  Ashby,  just  then. 

"Sit  down  there  by  Fabian,  Dunlap,  and  join 
our  circle,"  cordially  invited  the  story-teller,  after 
he  had  frowned  threateningly  at  his  host. 

"Give  Dunlap  some  coffee  and  don't  let  him  jot 
down  a  word  until  I've  done  talking.  Then  we 
will  pick  out  the  notes  he  is  to  have,"  added  Mr. 
Dalken. 

"Oh,  you  can  tell  it  so  well,  do  let  me  write  as 
you  narrate?"  begged  the  reporter. 

"No,  sir!  I  can't  read  short-hand  and  you  may 
get  in  a  word  I  don't  want  you  to  take.  Here, 
James,  remove  the  pencil  and  pad  from  that  young 


man." 


Everyone  laughed,  and  Dunlap  meekly  sur- 
rendered the  articles  mentioned.  Directly  Mr. 
Dalken  began  his  story,  the  wily  reporter  had  an- 
other pencil  and  pad  before  him.  But  Fabian 
stealthily  took  possession  of  these  also,  and  the 


THANKSGIVING  121, 

laugh  went   against   the   young  man  that   time. 

While  Mr.  Dalken  wove  a  veritable  thriller  out 
of  the  material  provided  by  the  fire,  Mrs.  Wel- 
lington wondered  how  it  was  possible  to  present 
the  facts  so  well  and  at  the  same  time  prove, 
beyond  doubt,  that  the  young  ladies  of  Mrs.  Wel- 
lington's school  were  so  perfectly  trained  and  edu- 
cated that  they  were  a  great  factor  in  saving  lives 
and  property  that  night.  At  the  end  of  the  story, 
Mr.  Dalken  said  that  some  bright  investor  might 
find  a  handsome  revenue  in  building  a  fire-proof 
Hall  where  just  such  entertainments  could  be 
given — high-school  girls  who  loved  to  give  parties 
but  could  not  lease  one  of  the  hotel  ball-rooms, 
•weeks  in  advance  and  pay  exorbitant  prices,  and 
then  possibly  change  their  plans  before  the  event. 

"You  can  make  a  separate  paragraph  of  what  I 
said,  if  you  like,  and  preface  it  with  tfe.e  remark: 
'When  asked  what  he  thought  about  the  fire,  Mr. 
Dalken,  who  viewed  the  blaze  from  a  house  oppo- 
site the  scene,  said':  you  know  the  rest,"  the 
famous  financier  saw  that  the  reporter  compre- 
hended, and  then  he  turned  to  the  others  seated 
about  the  table. 

"Anything  to  add  to  my  story?" 

"It  was  very  fine,  especially  about  our  dear 
Principal,  but  you  didn't  say  enough  about  Polly 


122  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

carrying  Elizabeth  safely  out,"  Eleanor  said, 
eagerly. 

"I  followed  a  lead  given  me  by  Mr.  Fabian. 
We  all  think  it  best  not  to  mention  names,  but  to 
make  the  incident  impersonal,"  explained  Mr. 
Dalken. 

Eleanor  pouted,  for  she  wanted  to  have  Polly 
given  all  the  credit  for  what  she  did.  But  a  sly 
look  from  the  reporter  gave  her  an  idea,  and  she 
smiled  back  understandingly. 

Then  the  story  was  pieced  out  for  Dunlap  and 
when  he  had  taken  down  all  his  notes,  he  jumped 
up  and  said :  "I  know  you  will  excuse  me  for  rush- 
ing away,  but  I  want  to  get  this  in  type  at  once.  In. 
case  you  have  forgotten  something,  or  wish  to  send 
me  a  photograph  of  anyone,  call  10000  Greeley 
and  I'll  see  to  it,  without  fail." 

"That's  all  you'll  get  on  this  occasion,"  laughed 
Mr.  Dalken  as  James  started  to  show  the  young 
man  to  the  door.  But  in  passing  Eleanor,  Dunlap 
sent  her  a  mental  telegram,  and  she  closed  one  eye 
significantly. 

"Oh — he  left  his  pencils  and  paper!"  exclaimed 
Eleanor,  jumping  up  instantly  and  running  with 
them  to  the  front  door. 

"Mr.  Dunlap — here  is  your  private  property 
that  Mr.  Fabian  had  charge  of,"  was  what  the 


THANKSGIVING  123 

guests  in  the  dining-room  heard.  But  to  Dunlap 
she  hurriedly  whispered:  "I'll  'phone  you  after 
I  leave  here." 

Before  the  party  broke  up  that  night,  Mrs.  Ash- 
by  learned  that  Mrs.  Maynard  was  an  old  school- 
mate of  hers,  and  expressed  a  wish  that  Polly  and 
Eleanor  would  visit  her  again  and  meet  Ruth  who 
was  then  visiting  friends  for  Thanksgiving  week. 

"I  really  cannot  voice  my  gratitude  to  all  these 
kind  friends,"  said  Mrs.  Wellington,  as  they  stood 
in  the  reception  hall  saying  good-night.  "Not  only 
has  dear  Mr.  Dalken  turned  harsh  public  con- 
demnation from  my  doors,  but  the  story  as  he  told 
it,  actually  brings  glory  to  the  school." 

"And  why  should  it  not,  my  dear  Madam? 
Have  you  not  fought  and  struggled  with  every 
girl  in  your  charge,  to  perfect  and  express  just  the 
qualities  I  have  given  you  credit  for?"  said  Mr. 
Dalken. 

"Oh,  yes,  /  have  tried  so  hard,  but  how  many 
people,  or  even  parents,  would  credit  me  with  such 
endeavors?  Once  they  read  it  in  the  papers  they 
will  accept  the  statement,  but  it  is  so  hard  to  im- 
press folks  by  actual  demonstration,"  sighed  the 
thankful  lady. 

"Thank  heavens,  Mrs.  Wellington,  that  you 
have  a  whole  day  of  peace  before  you,  in  which  to 


124  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

remember  that  you  have  found  a  group  of  people, 
here,  who  not  only  appreciate  your  efforts  but  have 
tried  to  make  others  approve  them,"  said  Mrs. 
Ashby,  earnestly. 

"Indeed  I  have !  I  expect  to  have  the  very  best 
of  Thanksgivings,  due  to  all  of  you  dear  people. 
Some  day  I  will  be  able  to  show  my  gratitude  for 
this."  And  the  lady's  voice  quavered  with  emo- 
tion. 

"And  you'll  find  the  story  in  the  papers  will  not 
only  spare  you  any  criticism,  but  actually  praise 
your  school,"  added  Mr.  Ashby. 

"You  may  be  overwhelmed  with  new  scholars," 
suggested  Polly,  innocently. 

"That's  so!  I've  always  heard  that  discreer 
publicity  is  the  finest  kind  of  advertising,"  Eleanof 
declared.  "This  fine  tale  about  your  scholars 
ought  to  bring  back  fifty  percent  returns." 

Everyone  laughed  heartily  at  hearing  so  young 
a  girl  talk  so  business-like,  and  Mr.  Dalken  said: 
"I  am  interested  to  know  just  where  you  got  that 
'  information?" 

"Isn't  it  true?"  demanded  Eleanor,  turning  her 
bright  eyes  on  him.  "You  see,  Polly  and  I  are 
going  into  business  together,  pretty  soon,  and  I 
have  to  take  notice  of  all  approved  methods  of 


THANKSGIVING  12$ 

winning  success.    I  am  to  be  the  business  manager 
while  Polly  is  the  decorator." 

The  new  acquaintances  were  highly  amused  at 
such  talk,  and  Mr.  Ashby  laughingly  inquired: 
"What  profession  have  you  chosen?" 

"Interior  decorators.  We  have  started,  al- 
ready; we  go  to  Cooper  Union  three  nights  a  week 
and  Mr.  Fabian  takes  us  to  all  the  lectures  and 
exhibitions  on  any  subject  that  will  give  us  ideas 
and  help." 

"Well!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Dalken,  finding  the 
girls  were  really  serious.  Mrs.  Ashby  was  deeply 
interested,  but  her  husband  took  each  of  the  pros- 
pective decorators  by  the  hand  and  shaking  them 
cordially,  said :  "Let  us  congratulate  each  other, 
for  I  am  already  established  as  a  decorator.  I 
want  to  help  you  onward  in  every  possible  way, 
my  dear  girls,  so  call  on  me  whenever  you  want 
help.  Just  as  Fabian  takes  you  to  these  valuable 
exhibitions  and  lectures,  so  the  four  of  us  pulling 
together  ought  to  arrive  somewhere." 

Mr.  Fabian  was  as  pleased  at  the  news  as  either 
of  his  protegees,  and  they  left  the  Ashbys  feeling 
very  much  at  peace  with  the  world  and  everything 
in  it. 

As  Eleanor  ran  down  the  shallow  brown-stone 


126  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

steps  to  the  side-walk,  she  turned  back  and  called 
to  Mr.  Ashby:    "Who  knows!    We  may  end  by 
going  into  partnership  with  you,  some  day!" 
He  laughed,  and  said :    "Who  knows  ?" 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  WEEK  OF  PLEASURE 

As  Mr.  Maynard  occupied  Eleanor's  room  at 
the  Studio,  and  she  used  the  couch  moved  into 
Polly's  room  for  the  time  being,  it  seemed  difficult 
for  Eleanor  to  follow  her  desire  to  communicate 
with  Dunlap,  the  reporter,  as  soon  as  she  got 
home. 

Everyone  was  dog-tired  from  the  excitement 
and  the  visit  at  the  Ashbys  afterward,  so  there  was 
no  time  lost  before  tumbling  into  bed.  Eleanor 
found  it  very  hard  to  keep  her  eyes  open  until  she 
could  hear  Polly  sleeping  heavily.  Then  she  crept 
from  the  bed. 

Downstairs  was  the  print  of  a  photograph  taken 
a  few  weeks  before,  of  a  group  of  Mrs.  Welling- 
ton's scholars.  Polly  and  herself  were  in  this 
group,  and  Eleanor  planned  to  get  it  into  the  re- 
porter's hands  for  reproduction  to  print  a  picture 
of  Polly  in  the  morning's  paper. 

She  found  the  photograph  without  noise  or 
127 


'128  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

trouble  and  then  sat  down  before  the  telephone 
stand  in  the  corner  of  the  living  room.  "I  hope  to 
goodness  no  one  upstairs  will  hear  me  talk," 
thought  Eleanor  to  herself,  as  she  gave  the  num- 
ber to  Central. 

"Hello — is  this  10000  Greeley? 

"Give  me  Mr.  Dunlap,  please. 

"The  lady  who  said  she  would  call  him  about 
the  fire. 

"No,  you  won't  do !    I  want  Dunlap ! 

"He  isn't  in?  I  don't  believe  you!  Get  off  the 
wire! 

"Hello — hello !  H-e-l-lo  !  I  want  editor's  desk 
— 10000  Greeley,  and  be  quick  about  it!"  snapped 
Eleanor,  feeling  quite  irritable  because  of  the  loss 
of  sleep,  and  the  strange  reporter's  laugh  at  her. 

"Is  this  the  night-editor?"  now  asked  Eleanor, 
eagerly. 

"U — um!  May  I  speak  to  Mr.  Dunlap — the 
reporter  you  assigned  on  the  fire  story  uptown, 
to-night? 

"Oh — he  isn't  in?  Well,  but  he  said  he  would 
wait  to  take  some  important  notes  from  me.  I 
can't  believe  he  is  out. 

"Well,  then,  you  may  be  the  night-editor,  but 
you  sound  exactly  like  that  fresh  reporter  who 


A  WEEK  OF  PLEASURE  129 

spoke  to  me  a  moment  ago.  I  cannot  understand 
why  you  employ  such  rude  youths  as  he  is." 

Eleanor  grinned  to  herself  for  she  was  quite 
sure  she  was  speaking  to  the  same  reporter  who 
answered  the  call,  at  first.  An  answering  laugh 
convinced  her  she  was  right,  and  she  hissed 
through  the  telephone:  "If  you  knew  who  I  was, 
you  wouldn't  keep  me  sitting  in  the  cold  like  this. 
Now  you  can  either  call  Dunlap  or  I'll  give 
my  story  to  your  enemy  downtown.  The  reporters 
of  that  paper  are  just  dying  to  get  my  story." 

That  proved  miraculous.  To  prevent  the  down- 
town competitor  from  getting  the  story,  the  un- 
known was  willing  to  turn  it  over  to  his  opponent, 
Dunlap. 

Eleanor  recognised  Dunlap's  voice  the  moment 
he  took  the  'phone,  and  she  gave  him  some  inter- 
esting personal  facts  about  Polly  and  herself,  and 
why  they  were  now  studying  in  New  York.  She 
talked  for  half-an-hour,  praising  Polly  and  her 
wonderful  character,  and  finally  began  telling 
about  the  escape  from  Grizzly  Peak  at  the  time 
of  the  land-slide.  But  Dunlap  interrupted  her 
with: 

"I  can't  get  all  of  that  in — we  go  to  press  very 
shortly." 


I3o  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Oh,  dear!  Can't  you  run  over  here  and  get 
this  photo  of  Polly,  that  I  have  ready  for  you?" 

"For  the  morning  edition?"  gasped  Dunlap. 

"Yes,  to  accompany  the  story  of  the  fire." 

"My  dear  young  lady — do  you  know  how  long 
it  takes  to  make  a  plate  for  the  paper?" 

"A  plate  ?    I  said  'a  photograph,'  Mr.  Dunlap." 

"But  we  have  to  make  a  reproduction  of  yours, 
then  print  it  on  a  plate,  then  give  it  an  acid  bath, 
then  etch  and  rout,  and  mount — and  it  all  takes 
time  before  the  plate  is  ready  to  be  stereotyped 
for  the  printing  in  the  paper." 

"Oh!  I  thought  you  just  took  the  picture  and 
copied  it  in  the  paper.  Of  course,  I  never  stopped 
to  inquire  into  what  process  it  went  through.  But 
if  you  say  you  can't  use  it,  I'm  sorry." 

"So'm  I.  But  you  might  bring  it  in  early  in  the 
morning  and  I'll  see  if  there  is  enough  interest  in 
the  story  to  rake  up  an  evening's  yarn." 

"Very  well.     I'll  do  that." 

"Come  in,  anyway,  and  bring  your  friends.  I'll 
show  you  through  the  engraving  plant  of  the 
paper.  You'll  be  interested." 

"Thank  you — good-by." 

Eleanor  hung  up  the  receiver  and  listened  in- 
tently to  hear  if  anyone  was  stirring  upstairs.  All 
was  quiet,  so  she  placed  the  photograph  back  on 


A  WEEK  OF  PLEASURE  131 

the  shelf  and  crept  upstairs  again.  She  jumped 
into  bed  shivering,  after  being  exposed  so  long  to 
the  cold,  downstairs.  But  utter  weariness  soon 
brought  her  sleep  and  all  was  forgotten  until 
breakfast  time. 

Mr.  Maynard,  speaking,  woke  Eleanor.  She 
sat  up  and  rubbed  her  eyes  sleepily.  "Thank 
goodness,  we  do  not  have  to  go  to  school  for  a 
whole  week!"  declared  she,  throwing  a  shoe  at 
Polly's  half-buried  head. 

"Polly!     Pol-le— ee!    Wake  up!" 

"Wha-foh?"  grunted  Polly,  half-dazed. 

Then  both  girls  heard  Mr.  Maynard  call :  "I'll 
be  right  back  to  breakfast,  Mrs.  Stewart — I'm 
going  to  the  corner  for  the  papers." 

Eleanor  suddenly  remembered  her  share  in  the 
telling  of  the  story  about  the  fire,  and  she  jumped 
out  of  bed.  "I'm  going  to  hurry  down  and  read 
what  the  paper  says  about  the  fire,"  said  she. 

Polly  turned  over  and  stretched  lazily.  "I  don't 
care  what  they  say.  I'm  going  to  sleep  all  day." 

Eleanor  was  annoyed.  "No,  you  won't!  We've 
got  to  keep  a  date  with  Mr.  Fabian  this  noon,  and 
you've  got  to  get  up !" 

"Oh,  that's  so !  Mr.  Fabian  is  going  to  take  us 
to  Grand  Central  Palace  to  show  us  how  carpets 
are  made.  I  forgot  that  exhibition  was  to-day." 


I32  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

And  Polly  jumped  up  at  that  remembrance  when 
other  things  had  failed  to  move  her. 

The  girls  were  downstairs  in  time  to  open  the 
front  door  for  Mr.  Maynard.  He  was  grinning 
teasingly,  as  he  tried  to  keep  a  great  mass  of 
morning  papers  from  slipping  out  from  under  his 
arm.  He  held  out  an  opened  sheet  for  the  girls 
to  see. 

"Oh,  what  a  horrid  face!  Who  is  it?"  ex- 
claimed Eleanor. 

"The  paper  states  it  is  you,  my  dear,"  laughed 
her  father. 

"What — never!  Oh,  what  awful  people  these 
newspaper  men  are !  Dad,  can't  you  go  down  there 
and  horse-whip  them?  I  never  looked  like  that 
in  all  my  life  I"  and  Eleanor  stamped  her  foot  in  a 
fury. 

Polly  had  been  gazing  at  the  two  faces  printed 
on  the  front  sheet  of  the  morning  paper,  but  now 
she  laughed.  "Oh,  if  I  looked  like  that  picture,  I 
could  have  put  out  the  fire  by  merely  turning  my 
face  to  it!" 

Anne  and  her  mother  came  in  when  they  heard 
Mr.  Maynard's  loud  laughter.  They,  too,  stared 
at  the  oval-framed  pictures  said  to  be  "The  two 
heroines  of  the  dreadful  fire  at  Assembly  Hall." 

"Anne,  where  under  the  sun  did  the  newspapers 


A  WEEK  OF  PLEASURE  133 

get  those  two  pictures?"  asked  Polly,  tittering 
every  time  she  saw  the  ovals. 

"Every  newspaper  has  a  department  known 
as  the  'morgue,'  or  some  such  name.  They 
keep,  filed  away,  pictures  of  every  well-known  per- 
son in  the  world.  In  the  package  indexed  under 
the  proper  name,  are  one  or  two  'cuts'  ready  to  use 
in  case  of  a  hurry.  Then  when  a  person  dies,  or 
is  married,  or  something  or  other  happens,  the 
newspaper  rushes  to  its  files  and  gets  out  the  pic- 
ture, or  cut,  needed. 

"It  is  the  same  with  famous  buildings,  or  ships, 
or  objects  of  any  kind.  If  something  comes  up 
that  brings  the  thing  to  the  public  attention,  there 
the  papers  have  the  pictures  all  ready  to  print. 

"Now  they  keep  lots  of  photographs,  just  like 
these  two,  which  they  buy  from  cheap  photog- 
raphers. They  buy  a  hundred  in  a  job  lot,  and  if 
they  want  a  picture  and  can't  secure  a  legitimate 
one,  or  a  snap-shot  from  the  reporter's  kodak, 
,hey  use  what  they  have  on  hand. 

"It  would  be  extremely  amusing  to  be  present 
when  these  girls  see  their  faces  in  the  paper.  It 
will  prove  almost  as  funny  as  seeing  you  two  girls 
scorning  these  strange  faces." 

But  Mr.  Maynard  had  been  reading  the  article 
while  Anne  had  explained  the  methods  of  many 


I34  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

newspapers,  and  now  he  exclaimed:  "By  jove! 
Dalken  never  said  a  word  about  all  this  life- 
history!" 

"What's  that,  Daddy?  Read  it  to  us,"  begged 
Eleanor,  eagerly. 

"Why — wh-y-y — the  young  rascal  hit  it  right  on 
the  head,  all  right!  But  where  did  he  get  it?" 
continued  Mr.  Maynard. 

"For  pity's  sake — read  it  aloud!"  commanded 
Eleanor,  hardly  able  to  hold  her  tongue  about  the 
story. 

Then  Mr.  Maynard  read  it,  and  it  lost  none  of 
its  vivid  coloring  by  his  reading,  either.  When  he 
had  almost  concluded,  Polly  began  to  grow  angry. 
When  he  finished,  she  was  furious. 

"I'm  going  up  to  that  office  and  I'll  fight  that 
reporter.  He  had  no  more  right  to  print  that  than 
those  other  men  had  to  use  someone  else's  photo- 
graphs and  call  them  ours.  So  there !" 

Mr.  Maynard  had  been  thinking  seriously,  and 
now  he  nailed  Eleanor  with  a  penetrating  look. 
"Nolla,  did  you  tell  that  young  rascal  this  story 
when  you  ran  to  the  door  with  his  pencil  and  paper 
last  night?" 

"No,  indeed!  I  did  not,  Daddy!  You  can  ask 
the  butler  if  I  ever  did!  He  stood  right  there 
yrhen  I  handed  Dunlap  the  pencil  I" 


A  WEEK  OF  PLEASURE          135 

Eleanor's  denial  was  so  emphatic  that  everyone 
believed  she  was  innocent  of  any  such  plot;  so  they 
never  found  out  who  was  the  guilty  one. 

While  at  breakfast,  the  telephone  rang.  "This 
it  Mr.  Latimer,  Anne.  We  have  just  read  the 
papers  and  were  so  surprised !  When  we  saw  the 
pictures  of  the  two  heroines,  we  feared  some 
dreadful  thing  had  happened  to  distort  their  faces 
so  that  we  failed  to  recognise  them,  and  I  hastened 
to  inquire.  Do  you  need  Dr.  Evans'  services  to 
straighten  out  those  faces?" 

An  amused  laugh  could  be  heard  over  the  wire, 
and  Anne  laughed  back.  "No,  thanks;  a  good 
night's  rest  has  brought  back  their  natural  looks. 
The  faces  in  the  paper  must  have  been  taken  by 
the  flickering  flame  of  the  burning  dwelling." 

"Jim  and  Ken  came  home  late  last  night  for  the 
Holiday.  We  wanted  to  congratulate  you  girls 
on  trying  so  hard  for  the  Carnegie  Medal,  but 
now  Jim  wants  to  say  'good-morning.'  ' 

In  another  moment,  Jim's  voice  was  heard 
speaking.  "Oh,  good-morning,  Anne.  Have  you 
used  Pears  Soap?"  Then  a  gay  laugh. 

"We  have,  but  you  haven't!  Your  father 
just  told  me  you  got  in  at  midnight,  and  if  you're 
up  as  early  as  this,  I'm  sure  the  sleep  hasn't  been 
washed  from  your  eyes,"  retorted  Anne. 


136  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Polly  and  Eleanor  crowded  close  and  hung  over 
the  'phone  so  they  could  hear  what  Jim  had  to  say. 

"I  only  wanted  to  say,  I've  got  tickets  for  the 
show,  to-night,  and  the  girls  are  not  to  go  any- 
where else." 

"Oh,  tell  him  we're  out  of  town  on  a  week-end 
party,"  Eleanor  whispered,  hurriedly  to  Anne. 

"Are  the  tickets  good  for  Eleanor's  father  and 
my  mother,  in  case  the  girls  go  out  of  town?" 
teased  Anne. 

"Say — you  really  don't  mean  that?"  Jim's  voice 
sounded  very  sad. 

"I  cannot  tell  a  lie — I  am  like  George,  you  see, 
and  I'll  let  the  girls  fib  for  themselves,"  laughed 
Anne,  getting  up  from  the  stool  and  handing  the 
instrument  to  Polly. 

"Oh,  here,  Nolla!  You  do  it!  You  know  I 
don't  like  this  jiggery  quivery  thing  I"  cried  Polly, 
quickly  placing  the  telephone  apparatus  on  the 
table  and  making  room  for  Eleanor  on  the  chair. 

Eleanor  was  delighted  to  talk  with  Jim,  and  she 
kept  at  it  until  a  clicking  in  her  ear  notified  her 
that  someone  wanted  to  get  them  on  the  wire,  so 
she  hurriedly  rang  Jim  off. 

"Hello  ["  called  Eleanor  to  the  next  inquirer. 

"Hello— 1234  Madison  Square?" 

"Yes/'' 


A  WEEK  OF  PLEASURE  137 

"This  is  Mr.  Ashby  speaking.  Is  this  one  of 
the  heroines?" 

"Oh,  Mr.  Ashby!  Yes,  it  is  Nolla.  What  do 
you  think  of  the  story  in  the  paper — and  the  funny 
photographs?"  laughed  Eleanor*. 

"I  laughed  myself  sick  over  it  at  breakfast.  My 
wife  and  I  wondered  how  that  young  rascal  got 
them,  and  James  explained." 

Here  Eleanor  turned  white,  for  she  wondered 
if  the  butler  really  had  seen  her  wink  at  Dunlap. 
"My,  but  I'm  thankful  I  got  at  this  wire  instead 
of  Anne,"  said  she  to  herself. 

"Two  of  our  maids  had  their  postal-card  pic- 
tures taken  the  other  day,  and  upon  rushing  out 
of  the  front  door  to  watch  the  fire  last  night,  they 
laid  them  upon  the  hall  table.  James  saw  them 
there,  later,  but  thinking  the  girls  would  soon  be 
coming  in  to  take  them  upstairs,  he  did  nothing 
about  it. 

"Then  in  the  excitement  of  watching  Miss  Polly 
climb  the  front  of  the  house,  and  have  the  Chief 
carry  her  over  to  our  house,  the  pictures  were  com- 
pletely forgotten.  As  the  young  reporter  went 
out,  James  saw  Miss  Eleanor  take  his  hat  from 
the  stand  and  hand  it  to  him.  But  nothing  was 
thought  about  the  cards.  Later,  however,  they 
were  gone. 


i38  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"This  morning  the  papers  have  the  photo- 
graphs of  Mary,  the  waitress,  and  Gladys,  the  up- 
stairs girl,  as  heroines  of  the  fire.  Maybe  our 
maids  are  not  tickled  to  pieces  to  find  themselves 
so  famous." 

Eleanor  heard  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ashby  laugh- 
ing merrily  over  the  mistake,  and  then  she  said: 
"Do  you  suppose  I  handed  the  cards  to  Dunlap 
when  I  picked  up  his  papers  and  hat?" 

"Undoubtedly.  But  the  joke  is,  he  thinks  you 
meant  to  do  it  very  secretly,  you  see,  so  he  never 
mentioned  it  but  hurried  the  work  on  the  pictures 
so  as  to  have  them  in  the  morning's  paper.  He 
most  likely  believes  that  that  was  why  you  ran 
after  him — to  manage  to  give  him  those  two 
photographs  to  use.  I  think  the  laugh  is  entirely 
on  him,  don't  you,  Eleanor?" 

But  Eleanor  did  not  say.  She  sat  and  studied 
the  pattern  in  the  rug  for  a  time,  refusing  to  an- 
swer all  the  questions  asked.  Then  she  decided 
that  Mr.  Ashby  must  have  heard  from  Duniap 
that  morning,  and  was  told  how  she  had  added 
many  facts  to  Mr.  Dalken's  story.  But  this  funny 
error  of  using  the  maid's  photographs,  was  retri- 
bution on  her  head. 

The  young  people,  with  Anne  to   chaperone 


A  WEEK  OF  PLEASURE 

them,  enjoyed  the  play  that  night,  and  then  the 
boys  outlined  the  programme  they  had  made  for 
the  week. 

The  next  day,  being  Thanksgiving,  the  entire 
party  was  to  dine  at  the  Larimers'.  Then  they 
would  go  for  an  automobile  drive,  and  in  the  even- 
ing all  would  enjoy  an  impromptu  supper  and 
dance  at  the  Evans'. 

Friday  morning  the  boys  would  take  the  girls 
skating  at  St.  Nicholas  Rink.  They  begged  to 
attend  Mr.  Fabian  and  the  girls  in  the  afternoon 
at  the  Textile  Exhibition,  then  dinner  at  the  Studio, 
and  another  play  at  night. 

Saturday  morning  the  girls  were  going  to  visit 
Mr.  Ashby's  famous  decorating  establishment,  and 
get  a  glimpse  first-hand  of  what  a  modern  dec- 
orator must  do  and  know  to  succeed.  In  the  after- 
noon the  boys  wanted  to  take  in  a  matinee,  but  the 
girls  were  invited  to  dinner  at  the  Ashbys,  and  to 
spend  the  evening  with  their  daughter  Ruth.  So 
Jim  said  nothing,  but  he  instantly  planned  how 
to  meet  the  Ashbys. 

"Now  don't  go  and  make  any  more  dates  for 
next  week,  without  asking  us,  understand!"  de- 
clared Jim,  when  he  heard  that  Saturday  was 
engaged  and  Sunday,  partly  so. 


i4o  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"How  can  we  help  it  if  our  parents  and  chap- 
erones  do  it  without  our  knowledge,"  queried 
Eleanor,  innocently. 

"Well,  I'll  speak  to  them,  then.  Ken  and  I  will 
have  to  be  off  again  next  week;  so  for  the  few  days 
we  have  at  home  we  want  you  girls  to  pass  up  all 
other  fun.  You've  got  all  the  year  for  other  beaux, 
you  know,"  grumbled  Jim. 

Polly  and  Eleanor  laughed.  "Oh,  yes,"  said  the 
latter,  "we  just  keep  on  the  go  continually,  every 
afternoon  and  evening,  with  a  devoted  swain  each 
day  to  replace  the  ones  of  the  day  before." 

"Where  do  you  meet  them?"  demanded  Jim, 
jealously.  » 

"We-11 — the  first  one  Polly  and  I  snared,  we 
'picked  up'  at  an  art  sale.  But  we  have  many 
opportunities  to  meet  others,  you  know." 
.  "Yes/'  added  Polly,  entering  the  joke,  "at 
night  school,  you  know,  there  are  loads  of  young 
men;  and  at  lectures  and  exhibitions — and  every- 
where." 

"Is  that  why  you  both  are  so  crazy  to  go  to 
these  dry  lecture  affairs?"  jeered  Kenneth,  think- 
ing himself  very  clever,  indeed. 

But  they  failed  to  get  the  girls  to  break  the  en- 
gagement with  the  Ashbys,  and  Jim  barely  man- 
aged, through  his  father's  kind  auspices,  to  meet 


A  WEEK  OF  PLEASURE          141 

Mr.  Dalken  Saturday  morning,  and  thus  open  the 
way  to  call  on  the  Ashbys  that  evening. 

Mr.  Dalken  was  young  in  spirit  if  not  in  years, 
and  he  enjoyed  helping  the  two  boys  work  out  the 
little  plot  so  as  to  be  present  with  Polly  and  Elea- 
nor at  the  Ashbys,  that  evening.  But  the  boys 
never  knew  that  their  benefactor  passed  up  an 
exciting  game  of  chess  at  his  club,  that  Saturday 
night,  in  order  to  introduce  them  to  his  friends. 

There  were  so  many  wonderful  things  to  do 
during  that  Holiday  Week,  that  the  girls  could  not 
attend  them  all.  Many  of  their  school-friends 
were  eager  to  have  them  at  teas  and  parties  and 
matinees,  but  all  these  had  to  be  refused  with 
regrets.  Eleanor  remarked:  "Wait  for  school 
to  open.  We'll  be  the  most  popular  girls  there. 
In  fact,  every  last  girl  will  want  to  fag  for  us !" 

"Why?"  asked  Polly,  wonderingly. 

"Because  they  think  we  are  in  such  demand, 
everywhere,  that  we  can't  accept  any  invitations 
of  theirs.  Don't  you  suppose  they  have  told  each 
other?  Lots  of  those  girls  travel  around  together, 
and  they  talk  everything  over.  But  I  guess  they 
are  wondering  who  takes  us  out  so  much,  and  what , 
society  we  travel  in."  Eleanor  laughed. 

Polly  looked  at  her  with  pity.  "Nolla,  some- 
times  I  feel  so  sorry  for  you !  All  your  joy  and 


i42  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

pleasure  in  having  others  act  nice  or  kind  to  you, 
is  lost  because  of  the  education  you've  had  in  Bob's 
school.  Now  I  don't  believe  those  girls  ask  us 
just  to  cater  to  us  because  we  are  popular.  I  think 
they  really  like  us  and  would  love  to  have  us  with 
them.  If  I  wasn't  so  frightfully  busy  with  school 
at  night,  and  other  worth-while  occupations,  I'd 
jaunt  about  with  them." 

Eleanor  said  nothing  more,  but  she  did  a  lot  of 
thinking. 


CHAPTER  IX 
POLLY'S  MUSCLE 

MR.  MAYNARD  was  delighted  with  Eleanor's 
evident  improvement  in  health,  and  all  fears  of 
the  New  York  climate  vanished  entirely,  before 
he  finished  his  visit  in  New  York.  He  remained 
a  week  and  then  said  good-by,  reminding  Mrs. 
Stewart  that  she  had  invited  him  for  the  Christ- 
mas Holidays.  They  all  laughed  because  he  was 
welcome,  at  all  times,  to  remain  as  long  as  he 
could. 

Regular  studies  began  again  after  the  Thanks- 
giving Holiday  and,  with  the  reopening  of  the 
classes,  the  girls  started  in  on  a  new  line  of  art  at 
Cooper  Union.  Anne  Stewart  used  to  escort  the 
girls  to  and  from  the  school  on  class-nights,  but  it 
was  such  a  tiresome  trip  for  her  to  make,  after  a 
hard  day  at  school,  and  with  lessons  to  go  over 
at  home,  that  the  girls  insisted  upon  her  staying 
home. 

Mr.  Fabian  generally  conducted  them  home 
143 


i44  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

after  class,  and  then  went  on  to  his  own  rooms. 
As  it  was  hardly  dark  by  seven-thirty,  in  October 
and  early  November,  it  was  no  more  hazardous 
for  the  two  girls  to  walk  or  ride  down  to  the 
Square  than  it  would  be  in  the  daytime. 

But  the  days  were  becoming  so  much  shorter 
after  Thanksgiving,  that  it  was  quite  dark  by  six 
o'clock.  Hence  Anne  worried  about  their  going 
downtown,  alone,  even  though  it  was  but  a  few 
blocks. 

The  second  week  of  class  in  December,  found 
Mr.  Fabian  absent.  He  had  taken  a  severe  cold 
and  thought  better  of  risking  his  health  in  the  bit- 
ter wind  and  Scotch  mist  that  night. 

Polly  and  Eleanor  did  not  speak  of  it  to  Anne, 
as  she,  too,  felt  wretched  that  day;  and  they  would 
rather  have  stayed  at  home  than  have  had  her  ac- 
company them  to  night  school  in  her  state  of 
health. 

"You're  not  to  worry  about  us,  Anne,  if  we  do 
not  come  in  as  early  as  usual,"  said  Eleanor,  upon 
opening  the  door  to  go  out. 

"Why — where  will  you  be?"  asked  Anne,  in- 
stantly. 

"Exams.  Some  of  the  teachers  are  testing  us 
in  all  the  work  we  did  this  last  term,  and  we  have 
to  write  our  answers.  We  may  be  a  full  hour  later 


POLLY'S  MUSCLE  145 

than  usual;  but  we'll  come  uptown,  together, 
so  there's  nothing  to  worry  about,"  explained 
Polly. 

Anne  thought  she  meant  Mr.  Fabian  by  "we- 
all"  but  Polly  meant  several  of  the  students  who ; 
lived  a  few  blocks  north  of  the  Square. 

Both  girls  were  well  bundled  up  in  heavy  storm 
coats,  mufflers,  and  close-fitting  woollen  caps 
pulled  down  over  their  ears.  Besides  their  books 
and  other  materials,  they  had  umbrellas  to  carry 
but  it  was  too  windy  to  open  them. 

The  examination  questions  proved  to  be  most 
interesting;  and  the  answers  required  a  great  deal 
of  careful  thought,  before  describing  the  various 
types,  methods  and  ideals  of  architecture  and 
decoration. 

Polly  described  at  large  such  questions  as:  "Can 
you  describe  the  different  types  that  go  to  make 
up  the  Egyptian  people?"  or  the  question:  "How 
does  plant-life  affect  Egyptian  ornament — sketch 
two  such  plants." 

"What  is  a  torus  molding?  Where  is  echinus 
molding  used?  Sketch  the  cyma  recta." 

When  Polly  found  the  questions :    "Describe  a  , 
scarabaeus,"    and    "Why   did   ancient   Egyptians 
prepare  their  dead  as  they  did,  and  describe  a 
mummy  and  the  methods  used  for  its  preserva- 


146  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

tion,"  she  was  elated,  for  she  had  made  a  particu- 
lar study  of  these  subjects  at  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  where  the  collection  of  Egyptian  antiques 
is  unsurpassed. 

There  were  many  other  interesting  questions,  all 
of  which  Polly  was  eager  to  answer,  but  time  was 
too  limited  for  her  to  say  all  she  wished  to.  For 
instance,  she  wanted  to  describe,  at  length,  Greek 
art  and  the  Greek  nation  that  was  characteristic 
for  its  own  type  of  art  and  ornament. 

She  was  anxious  to  tell  what  she  knew  about 
color  and  its  importance  in  art.  Of  polychromy 
and  what  it  was.  In  fact,  she  needed  hours  in 
which  to  speak  fully  of  the  difference  between 
Greek,  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  art  and  ornament. 

Eleanor  on  her  part,  wrote  graphically  of  the 
difference  between  the  Arabs  and  Persians,  and 
how  their  modes  and  habits  had  a  corresponding 
effect  on  art.  She  liked  to  describe  the  style  of 
Romanesque  art  and  how  it  governed  all  Eastern 
Europe  at  one  time. 

Eleanor  leaned  to  the  Moorish  classics  and  had 
a  weakness  for  Turkish  designs;  she  loved  the 
warm  coloring  used  by  the  Moors  in  their  work, 
and  the  harsh  bright  colors  employed  by  the 
Turks.  She  had  no  hesitation  in  selecting  from 


POLLY'S  MUSCLE  147 

samples  shown,  the  Mohammedan  designs,  the 
Chinese,  the  Byzantine,  or  Arabian  patterns.  She 
was  expert  in  stating  why  the  fall  of  Rome  affected 
all  art  in  Eastern  and  Western  Europe,  and  what 
was  its  highest  development  and  its  period  of  all 
architecture. 

It  was  more  than  an  hour  later  than  usual,  when 
the  two  girls  put  away  their  work  and  started  out 
for  home.  The  scholars  who  lived  on  streets  up- 
town, had  gone  long  before,  and  Polly  and  Eleanor 
found  that  the  high  wind  made  it  impossible  for 
them  to  open  their  umbrellas. 

"It's  so  icy  we  will  have  to  use  them  as  props," 
laughed  Polly. 

"My!  But  this  sleet  in  one's  face  is  cold,  isn't 
it?"  gasped  Eleanor. 

"Let's  take  a  short  cut  across  the  Plaza,"  sug- 
gested Polly,  breaking  into  a  run  across  the  dia- 
mond that  separates  the  streets  at  Third  and 
Fourth  avenues,  and  Eighth  street. 

Having  reached  the  small  oasis  about  the  sub- 
way station,  Eleanor  said:  "Why  not  take  the 
subway,  here,  to  Twenty-eighth  street,  Poll?" 

"Oh,  I  hate  those  subways!  This  wonderful 
sleet  and  the  quiet  hissing  of  the  ice  on  the  win- 
dows and  walks  makes  me  feel  as  if  I  were  home. 


i48  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

No  clatter  of  wheels,  no  shouting  of  burly  men,  no 
nothing  that  makes  a  city  so  horrid.  Let's  walk 
all  the  way  home." 

"All  right,"  laughed  Eleanor.    "I'm  game !" 

So  they  started  up  Fourth  avenue,  past  Wana- 
makers,  and  were  soon  lost  to  their  surroundings 
in  their  discussion  of  the  examinations. 

"What  answer  did  you  give  to  the  question 
'Tell  the  basis  of  religions  existing  with  the  Per- 
sians and  the  Arabs:  describe  the  differences,' 
Polly?" 

"I  was  not  quite  sure  of  that,  Nolla,  but  I  did 
make  a  good  thing  of  that  question  'Why  did 
Egyptians  use  bright  colors  in  art?'  And  also  that 
question  that  read:  'When  colors  of  the  pattern 
contrast  with  the  colors  of  the  back-ground,  what 
general  rule  must  govern  ?'  You  know,  I  just  love 
to  ferret  out  these  ideas." 

"So  do  I.  But  I  never  dreamed  there  was  so 
much  wonderful  knowledge  to  be  obtained  in  a 
course  of  this  kind,"  said  Eleanor,  holding  her  arm 
before  her  face  in  order  to  speak  distinctly. 

They  had  now  reached  Eleventh  street,  and 
were  passing  a  saloon  still  brightly  lighted,  in  spite 
of  Prohibition  Laws.  In  the  doorway  lounged 
three  tough-looking  young  men;  but  the  red- 
cheeked  girls  scarcely  saw  them — they  were  too 


POLLY'S  MUSCLE  149 

interested  in  their  conversation.  An  empty  auto 
stood  by  the  curb,  but  no  other  vehicle  or  person 
was  in  sight. 

When  the  girls  came  under  the  arc  of  light  that 
reflected  from  the  globes  in  the  saloon-window, 
one  of  the  flippant  young  men  said,  quite  loud 
enough  for  Polly  and  Eleanor  to  hear:  "I  say! 
Ain't  them  two  goils  peaches,  though !" 

His  two  companions  laughed  rudely,  but  the 
girls  hastened  on  without  a  word  or  look.  An- 
other of  the  trio  then  said:  "Betcha  they'd  be 
glad  of  comp'ny.  I'll  try  it." 

Eleanor  whispered  anxiously  to  Polly:  "What 
time  do  you  think  it  is?" 

"It  was  almost  eleven  when  we  stopped  writing. 
It  must  be  nearly  eleven-thirty  now." 

"Pretty  late  for  such  a  bad  night.  We'll  take 
the  subway  at  Fourteenth  street,  Polly." 

"Reckon  we'd  better.  Are  there  no  policemen 
about  these  corners?" 

"Not  when  you  need  one.  On  fine  summer 
nights  you  will  see  them  strolling  about,  maybe." 

The  girls  tittered,  but  instantly  hushed  when 
they  heard  voices  directly  behind  them. 

"Pretty  evenin'  fer  a  walk,  goils." 

No  reply  was  vouchsafed  to  this  remark  but  the 
girls  kept  right  on  with  their  customary  swift  gait. 


1 50  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Ain't  che  hankerin'  fer  comp'ny?"  chuckled 
another  tough. 

"Ah,  come  on  back,  fellers.  What's  th'  use 
foolin'  wid  a  coupla  high-brows  on  such  a  nasty 
night !"  argued  one  of  the  three. 

Polly  and  Eleanor  fervently  hoped  they  would 
go  back,  but  the  other  fellow  replied:  "G'wan 
back,  if  yeh  wants.  Bill  and  me  er  goin'  to  have 
some  fun.  Come  on,  Bill." 

Polly  now  glanced  at  Eleanor  and  said  in  a  low 
tone :  "Get  a  good  grip  on  your  umbrella.  Thank 
heavens  we  haven't  any  books  or  papers  to  carry, 
as  we  usually  have." 

Then  the  fellow  called  Bill,  said:  "You  amble 
up  to  the  peacherino  on  the  outside,  whiles  I  take 
to  the  inside  one,  Andy." 

"There's  the  boss's  car  waiting  fer  nuttin.  We 
kin  give  them  a  ride — a  joy  ride  fer  us,"  harshly 
laughed  Andy. 

Bill  joined  in  the  suggestive  laugh,  and  both 
girls  unconsciously  hastened  their  steps. 

"No  hurry,  my  pretties.  There  ain't  a  cop  twixt 
here  an'  the  saloon  on  Fourteenth  street.  Don't 
we'se  know  this  districk?  Ha-ha !" 

"Ready  for  a  fight,  Nolla!"  hissed  Polly,  sud- 
denly wheeling  and  facing  the  accosters.  • 

Eleanor  also  turned,  a  second  later,  and  both 


"NOW  YOU  TWO  OUT-LAWS  TURN-ABOUT-FACE  AND  MARCH!" 

COMMANDED  POLLY. 
Polly  in  New  York.  Page  151 


POLLY'S  MUSCLE  151 

men  were  taken  by  surprise.  Polly's  eyes  blazed 
and  she  gave  the  roughs  such  a  scornful  look  that 
it  should  have  withered  them  as  they  stood  there. 

"Now  you  two  out-laws  turn-about-face  and 
march  downtown  as  fast  as  you  know  how!"  com- 
manded she. 

"Ah,  ha,  Bill!  I  envy  you  your  choice?  She 
turns  out  to  be  a  regerler  sport.  See  them  eyes 
shoot  fire?  Let  me  have  a  kiss,  me  pritty,  afore 
Bill  gits  them  all!"  As  the  fellow  Andy  spoke 
insinuatingly,  he  stepped  forward  to  take  hold  of 
Polly. 

At  the  same  moment  her  umbrella  swung  back 
over  her  head  and  the  muscular  young  arm  in- 
stantly brought  down  the  heavy  metal  knob  upon 
the  soft  cap  that  covered  the  head  of  the  ruffian. 
The  blow  was  so  unexpected,  and  forceful  as  well, 
that  it  staggered  Polly's  assailant. 

Both  men  cursed  fluently,  then,  and  Bill  threat- 
ened: "Jus'  fer  dat,  you'se  is  goin'  to  get  what's 
comin'  to  yeh !" 

Eleanor  wanted  to  turn  and  run,  but  she  would 
not  have  deserted  Polly  for  all  the  world,  so  she 
screamed  "Help !  Help !"  with  all  her  lung-power 
— and  she  had  plenty  of  it. 

Bill  hesitated  to  attack  Eleanor  as  she  yelled 
and  screamed  for  help,  but  Andy  was  raging  and 


152  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

tried  to  close  in  with  Polly.  The  umbrella  was 
flung  aside,  and  in  another  minute  Polly  launched 
at  his  face  with  a  closed  fist.  It  struck  him  be- 
tween the  eyes  and  caused  a  howl  of  pain. 

Before  he  could  collect  himself,  the  daring  girl 
had  struck  him  another  fearful  blow  under  the 
chin.  This  sent  him  back  flat  upon  his  back,  and 
while  he  was  trying  to  crawl  up  on  his  knees,  the 
amateur  pugilist  turned  and  sent  a  blow  at  Bill. 
But  he  had  stood  gaping  at  the  amazing  encoun- 
ter with  his  pal,  and  he  now  dodged  his  own 
undoing. 

Eleanor  saw  her  opportunity.  She  had  no  time 
to  lift  her  umbrella  for  a  blow,  and  it  had  no  solid 
handle  like  Polly's,  but  she  fiercely  rammed 
the  steel-capped  end  of  the  rod  into  the  pit  of 
the  rascal's  stomach,  so  that,  instantly,  he  buckled 
up.  He  sank  down  groaning  while  he  struggled 
to  get  his  breath. 

Andy  was  up  on  his  feet  again  by  this  time,  but 
Bill  was  out  of  the  fight,  so  both  girls  gave  full 
attention  to  the  second  villain.  He  fought  now, 
as  slum  ruffians  will,  but  he  was  no  match  for  the 
hard  knuckles,  steel  muscles  and  lithe  movements, 
of  the  Rocky  Mountain  maid  who  had  grappled 
with  wild  animals  and  had  won  out. 

The  groveling  Bill  now  managed  to  reach  out 


POLLY'S  MUSCLE 

a  hand,  planning  to  catch  Eleanor  by  the  ankle 
and  trip  her.  But  at  that  moment  a  silent-running 
automobile  slid  up  to  the  curb  and,  at  the  instant 
of  its  stopping,  the  door  flew  open  and  a  gentle- 
man leaped  out.  In  his  hand  he  pointed  a  revol- 
ver, and  Andy  immediately  threw  up  both  hands. 

"W-h-y — Mr.  Dalken.  Oh,  thank  goodness 
you  came!"  cried  Eleanor,  trembling  nervously. 

The  chauffeur  was  standing  guard  over  Bill  at 
the  same  time,  so  Mr.  Dalken  asked  frowningly: 
"What  are  you  girls  doing  down  here  at  this  hour? 
— all  alone,  too!" 

By  this  time  the  truant  officer  ran  over  to  the 
group  and  wanted  to  know  what  was  wrong.  Mr. 
Dalken  turned  on  him  in  just  anger.  "Wrong — 
why,  you  were  not  on  the  beat!  That's  what's 
wrong." 

"But  I  was — I  got  a  beat  bigger  than  any  FifV 
avenoo  cop  what  only  has  to  parade  in  front  of  a 
swell's  house.'f 

"You  needn't  try  to  bull-doze  me,  my  man.  Evi- 
dently you  fail  to  recognise  me,  but  we  will  talk 
this  over  at  the  City  Hall,  in  the  morning.  Now 
arrest  these  two  foot-pads."  As  the  officer 
snapped  hand-cuffs  on  his  prisoners,  Dalken 
added,  "By  the  way,  why  is  a  saloon  open  at  this 
hour — to  sell  soft  drinks?" 


i54  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

The  scorn  in  Mr.  Dalken's  tone  silenced  the 
policeman.  "Now,  girls,  jump  into  the  car  and  I 
will  take  you  home,"  offered  their  rescuer.  But 
the  officer  interfered  when  they  would  have 
stepped  inside  the  car. 

"Your  names,  please,  arid  addresses.  And  how 
do  I  know  that  you  will  take  these  young  ladies  to 
their  home?"  The  tone  of  the  man  was  insulting. 

"If  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that  I  want  to  hurry 
these  children  to  their  family  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible, I'd  take  the  keenest  pleasure  in  answering 
you  in  a  manner  that  you'd  understand  and  respect. 
Now  you  go  about  your  tardy  business  and  I  will 
see  to  mine.  Here's  my  card.  The  girls  do  not 
appear  in  this  matter  at  all.  I  am  the  man  who 
caused  the  ruffians'  arrest,  and  I  will  answer  in 
Court." 

Mr.  Dalken  followed  the  girls  into  the  car  and 
the  driver  instantly  shot  away ;  in  a  short  time  the 
car  stopped  in  front  of  the  Studio.  As  Polly  and 
Eleanor  gratefully  took  Mr.  Dalken's  hand,  he 
advised  them.  "Better  not  speak  of  this  affair  to 
anyone — leave  it  to  me  to  settle.  But,  hereafter, 
do  not  dream  of  going  about  so  late  at  night,  un- 
attended. One  never  can  tell !" 

"But  we  can't  expect  Anne  to  trot  about  with  us 
when  she  is  tired  out  at  night,"  explained  Eleanor. 


POLLY'S  MUSCLE  ;i5$ 

"Then  use  my  car  on  the  nights  you  have  to  go 
to  school.  I'll  send  down  my  Sedan,  after  this, 
because  the  butler  understands  its  tricks  thor- 
oughly. He  seldom  has  anything  to  do  on 
those  evenings  you  go  to  school,  and  he  can  oblige 
us  by  driving  that  car  should  I  need  Henri  for  this 
car." 

The  girls  thanked  him  again,  and  then  hurried 
indoors. 

"Where  have  you  been  so  late,  dears?"  cried 
Anne,  anxiously,  as  they  came  in. 

"We  told  you  we  would  be  late,"  began  Polly. 

"But  it  is  past  twelve,  now;  I  was  about  to  call 
up  the  police-station  at  Ninth  street,  and  find  out 
if  anything  had  happened." 

The  two  girls  laughed  and  Eleanor  pulled 
Anne's  ear  playfully,  as  she  said:  "Now,  sillyv 
wbat  could  happen  to  usl" 


CHAPTER  X 

CHRISTMAS  AND  WHAT  IT  BROUGHT 

ANNE  never  suspected  that  Polly  and  Eleanor 
had  had  a  "hold-up"  at  any  time,  but  she  won- 
dered why  Mr.  Dalken  should  be  so  kind  as  to 
loan  his  car  to  the  girls  on  school-nights.  Polly 
explained  simply.  "Why,  he  never  forgot  what 
we  did  for  Elizabeth,  and  when  he  learned  we 
were  trudging  back  and  forth  alone,  he  just 
wouldn't  have  it." 

"He  said  he  couldn't  bear  the  thought  of  our 
even  having  to  travel  in  the  subway,  alone,  late  at 
night,"  added  Eleanor. 

So  Anne,  although  she  read  about  the  two  ruf- 
fians who  had  tried  to  rob  a  wealthy  broker,  one 
night,  never  dreamed  that  her  two  girls  were  vic- 
timized before  Mr.  Dalken  appeared  to  rescue 
them. 

Madam  Wellington's  school  prospered  splen- 
didly from  the  publicity  given  it  in  the  papers 
directly  after  the  fire.  And  later,  when  it  was 

156 


CHRISTMAS  157 

learned  that  Mr.  Ashby,  Mr.  Dalken,  and  two 
other  wealthy  men  had  purchased  the  corner  which 
had  always  been  disfigured  by  the  old  four-story 
amusement  hall,  and  proposed  erecting  a  twelve- 
story  high-class  apartment  house  on  the  land,  the 
mention  of  the  fire  and  the  bravery  of  the  Welling- 
ton School  girls  again  appeared  in  the  papers. 

Letters  between  Pebbly  Pit  and  New  York 
passed  twice  a  week,  and  the  last  news  from  home 
was:  "How  we  should  love  to  have  you  spend 
Christmas  with  us,  Polly  dearest.  It  will  not  seem 
like  a  real  Christmas  with  both  my  children  away 
from  home." 

The  letter  made  Polly  feel  home-sick  and  she 
wrote  to  her  mother  immediately,  saying:  "I  feel 
that  I  shall  have  to  come  home  even  if  it  takes  a 
month  out  of  school  and  delays  me  in  my  art 
studies,  unless  you  can  plan  some  other  way  that 
we  might  see  each  other  this  Christmas." 

Polly  had  a  very  clever  plan  that  suddenly  came 
to  her,  as  she  read  her  mother's  words,  and  her 
reply  was  the  first  step  in  working  out  her  plan 
successfully. 

The  second  step  was  to  go  downtown  and  call 
upon  Mr.  Latimer  at  his  office.  She  was  wel- 
comed there  and  asked  what  good  wind  blew  her 
downtown. 


1 58  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Polly  laughed.  "It's  a  blizzard  from  the 
Rockies — that  is  why  I'm  here."  Then  she  told 
him  about  her  mother's  home-sick  words.  "And 
this  is  what  we  must  do,  Mr.  Latimer,  or  I'll  have 
to  leave  school  and  go  back  home." 

"Dear  me,  I  will  do  anything  rather  than  lose 
you  from  New  York,  Polly,"  Mr.  Latimer  laugh- 
ingly replied. 

"You  must  find  some  excuse  on  the  mining  or 
jewel  business,  that  needs  Daddy's  personal  pres- 
ence here  in  New  York.  Make  it  necessary  for 
him  to  be  here  just  before,  or  after  Christmas. 
Then  I  will  write  and  let  them  know  that  you  told 
me  about  it,  and  insist  upon  having  mother  come 
East  with  father,  for  her  Christmas.  Why,  even 
John  and  Paul  might  join  us  here  without  much 
expense  or  trouble." 

Mr.  Latimer  smiled.  "There  is  no  harm  in 
trying  the  plan,  even  if  your  father  won't  leave 
his  ranch  while  it  is  under  six  feet  of  snow." 

Polly  laughed  at  that.  "Exactly!  Dad  doesn't 
have  to  stick  there  in  winter-time,  any  more  than 
I  do.  Especially  with  Jeb  on  hand  to  take  care 
of  everything." 

Then  remembering  a  warning,  she  said:  "But 
you've  got  to  find  a  real  worthy  reason  for  his 
coming  East,  because  I  know  my  Dad!" 


CHRISTMAS  159 

"I'll  have  you  approve  the  reason  before  I  send 
it  West — how  will  that  do?" 

"I  think  you  will  do  well.  Because  I  may  be 
able  to  make  a  suggestion — knowing  my  father  as 
I  do." 

Mr.  Latimer  laughed  and  patted  Polly  on  the 
head.  "Well,  now  that  that  is  settled,  let  us  talk 
about  Jim  and  Ken.  You  know,  do  you  not,  that 
we  expect  them  home  in  a  few  days?" 

"I  didn't  know,  but  I  took  for  granted  that  they 
would  soon  be  home  for  the  Holidays.  Although 
it  seems  like  yesterday  that  they  were  home  for 
Thanksgiving  Week." 

"Not  to  Jim's  mother  and  me.  We  miss  him 
very  much,  as  he  always  was  such  a  lively  boy  at 
home." 

"I'm  afraid  we  won't  see  much  of  him  this  time. 
He  never  even  called  us  on  the  'phone  when  he 
came  from  New  Haven  to  see  Ruth  Ashby,  two 
weeks  ago  Sunday,"  said  Polly,  never  dreaming 
that  his  father  was  ignorant  of  the  visit. 

"He  didn't!  Then  Ken  should  have  called 
on  you.  He  did  not  come  to  see  a  girl,  too,  did 
he?" 

"Oh,  Ken  never  knew  Jim  was  coming — so 
Ruth  told  us.  Jim  telephoned  her  early  Sunday 
morning  and  found  she  would  be  home,  so  he  ran 


i6o  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

in  Town  on  the  noon  train  and  stayed  until  the 
nine  o'clock." 

"I'll  see  that  Jim  does  not  go  back  on  his  first 
loves  quite  so  suddenly,"  laughed  Mr.  Latimer, 
thinking  of  the  teasing  he  would  give  Jim. 

"But  we  are  not  loves'  at  all — Nolla  and  I  are 
onry  good  pals  for  the  boys,"  corrected  Polly, 
anxiously. 

"Whatever  you  call  it,  Jim  ought  to  be  well 
advised  on  such  matters,  as  long  as  legal  advice 
costs  him  nothing." 

Polly  failed  to  follow  Mr.  Latimer,  and  he  im- 
mediately changed  the  subject.  "Now  that  you 
are  here  and  it  is  lunch-hour,  why  not  come  with 
me.  I  promised  to  take  you  to  the  Cafe  Savarin 
or  the  Lawyer's  Club,  some  day,  and  this  is  the 
day." 

"Oh,  it  would  be  lovely,  but  I  just  couldn't  leave 
Nolla  out  of  the  treat,  you  knowl"  exclaimed 
Polly,  eagerly. 

"If  Nolla  is  at  home,  we  will  have  her  down  in 
twenty  minutes.  We'll  wait  for  her,  and  mean- 
while I'll  dictate  a  letter  to  your  father  for  you 
to  O.  K." 

Eleanor  was  moping  around  the  house,  wonder- 
ing where  Polly  could  be,  when  the  telephone  rang 
and  she  was  invited  to  join  her  friends  at  luncheon. 


CHRISTMAS  161 

So  in  less  than  half-an-hour  the  trio  were  having  a 
merry  time  in  the  sumptuous  private  restaurant 
on  lower  Broadway. 

The  letter  that  Polly  approved,  reached  Sam 
Brewster,  and  he  showed  it  to  his  wife.  "Ah  have 
been  thinking,  dear,  that  we-all  might  surprise 
Polly  by  dropping  in  on  her  just  about  Christmas 
time,  eh?" 

"Rather  than  let  her  come  West  and  lose  all 
that  time  from  classes,  I  should  say  'yes,'  Sam." 

"We  really  have  nothing  to  tie  us  down  at  the 
ranch  for  a  few  weeks,  unless  the  snow  buries  us 
for  the  winter." 

"Sary  would  be  in  her  glory  could  she  keep 
house  alone  with  Jeb  for  a  time.  Ever  since  they 
returned  from  their  honey-moon  in  Denver,  she 
has  been  sighing  to  run  the  house,"  said  Mrs. 
Brewster,  "feeding  the  fire"  carefully. 

"Let's  go !  By  the  Great  Horned  Spoon,  I  feel 
like  taking  a  vacation  to  some  other  part  of  the 
world — so  New  York  will  do !" 

Then  it  was  quickly  decided  that  they  would 
start  on  Monday,  and  this  being  Friday,  there  was 
no  time  to  lose. 

Sary  and  Jeb  accepted  the  amazing  news  with 
smiles  and  exchange  of  knowing  looks.  But  they 
were  relieved  when  Mrs.  Brewster  herself  sug- 


1 62  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

gested  to  Sary:  "Have  all  the  good  times  you 
want,  Sary,  while  we  are  gone.  Invite  your 
friends,  and  neighbors,  if  they  can  get  through  the 
drifts,  and  have  apple-parties,  corn-poppers,  Vir- 
ginia Reels,  and  anything  on  earth  you  like !" 

"Would  you-all  keer  if  we-all  ast  as  much  as 
twenty  to  a  time?"  asked  Sary,  fearfully. 

"Ask  forty,  if  you  like — and  if  you  can  find 
them,"  laughed  Mrs.  Brewster,  recklessly. 

"Only  see  to  it  that  they  leave  the  roof,  Sary," 
ha-hawed  Sam  Brewster.  "And  that  the  sky- 
larkin'  is  all  over  when  we  return." 

Sary  nodded  understandingly.  She  had  in- 
stantly planned  how  to  create  envy  in  the  souls  of 
her  old  friends  at  Yellow  Jacket  Pass,  by  asking 
them  all  to  her  parties. 

The  Brewsters  sent  John  a  wire  to  say  that  they 
would  spend  a  few  hours  in  Chicago,  and  would 
like  him  to  keep  that  time  open.  But  when  they 
reached  Chicago,  John  was  standing  on  the  plat- 
form holding  a  suit-case  in  his  hand.  Tom  Lati- 
mer  and  Paul  Stewart  stood  beside  him. 

John  explained:  "Paul  and  Tom  are  going, 
too.  Some  good  fairy  sent  us  round-trip  tickets, 
but  we  don't  know  who  it  was.  Not  a  line  came 
with  the  tickets.  So  here  we  are — ready  to  help 
in  the  surprise." 


CHRISTMAS  163 

John  then  introduced  Paul,  and  Mrs.  Brewster 
took  his  hand  as  she  looked  into  his  face.  "You 
are  the  image  of  our  Anne,  Paul;  I  would  have 
known  you  anywhere." 

"That  he  is,"  added  Sam  Brewster,  shaking 
Paul's  hand  heartily.  So  the  party  of  five  con- 
tinued on  the  journey,  smiling  as  they  pictured  the 
glad  surprise  to  be  given  the  family  at  the  Studio. 
Little  did  they  dream  that  the  Studio  family  were 
busy  preparing  for  a  gladsome  Christmas  for  them 
all.  For  Mr.  Latimer  had  told  them  about  the 
telegram  from  Pebbly  Pit,  and  that  he  had  heard 
from  Tom  that  he  and  John  and  Paul  were  going 
to  join  the  party  coming  East.  But  he  did  not  say 
that  he,  incognito,  had  mailed  the  tickets. 

The  Twentieth  Century  had  a  long  line  of  Pull- 
mans to  take  to  New  York  that  trip,  and  it  was 
small  wonder  that  passengers  having  berths  in  the 
last  coach,  should  fail  to  meet  anyone  traveling 
in  the  first  one.  So  it  was  with  speechless  amaze- 
ment, that  the  Brewsters  met  the  Maynards  at 
Grand  Central  Station  when  both  parties  were 
waiting  to  get  taxi-cabs. 

"Well,  well,  Ah  believe  it's  Mr.  Maynardl" 
exclaimed  Sam  Brewster,  in  his  deep  western 
thunder. 

"Brewster?  so  it  is!    Indeed  I  am  glad  to  see 


>-64  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

you  here.  Come  to  cheer  up  the  little  girl,  eh?" 
and  Eleanor's  father  grasped  the  ranchman's  big 
hands. 

Mrs.  Brewster  and  her  two  young  male  com- 
panions (Tom  had  gone  to  telephone)  were  now 
introduced  to  Barbara  and  Mrs.  Maynard.  The 
latter  had  never  met  the  Brewster  family,  and 
Barbara,  thinking  it  wiser  to  assume  indifference, 
smiled  coldly. 

"We're  stopping  at  the  Park  Hotel,  Brewster — 
what  about  you  folks?  Might  as  well  go  where 
we  do,"  suggested  Mr.  Maynard. 

"I  wired  there  for  accommodations;  Polly  men- 
tioned it  in  several  of  her  letters  as  being  quite 
near  the  Studio." 

"Fine!  Then  we  will  go  right  along.  Here 
Taxi !  eight  of  us  and  baggage." 

"You  mean  seven,  Mr.  Maynard?"  ventured 
'  John,  politely. 

"No — didn't  you  know  Pete  was  here  with  us? 
He  came  on  another  coach  with  some  chums  who 
were  coming  East." 

"I  haven't  seen  much  of  Pete,  this  term.  I've 
been  cramming  every  moment,  so  as  to  finish  and 
be  ready  to  help  in  the  mine,  you  see,"  explained 
John,  hesitatingly. 

Mr.  Maynard  saw  the  expression  and  said  noth- 


CHRISTMAS  165 

ing,  but  he  determined  to  find  out  why  Pete  had 
not  seen  much  of  Paul  and  John  and  Tom,  that 
term.  Three  young  men  who  could  be  of  great 
advantage  to  a  wild  young  student  should  be  culti- 
vated, he  thought. 

When  Sam  Brewster  did  anything,  he  never  did 
it  by  halves ;  consequently  when  he  wired  the  Park 
Hotel  for  rooms,  the  day  he  left  Denver,  he  en- 
gaged a  whole  suite.  No  better  accommodations 
than  he  had,  were  to  be  found  in  the  building,  and 
the  Maynards  had  to  accept  second-best. 

When  Mr.  Maynard  found  the  ranch-man  had 
the  very  finest  the  hotel  afforded,  he  chuckled  de- 
lightedly to  himself,  for  he  had  silently  watched 
the  manner  in  which  Barbara  received  the  greet- 
ings of  the  people  who  were  so  kind  to  her  that 
Summer. 

Mrs.  Maynard  was  furious  with  her  husband. 
"My  dear!  what  possessed  you  to  come  to  this 
horrid  place.  Don't  you  know  that  Bob's  position 
must  be  catered  to  ?  Even  the  best  hotels  here  are 
rather  too  ordinary.  She  should  be  stopping  at 
the  newest  and  most  exclusive  one  uptown." 

"When  she  marries  that  little  numb-skull  you've 
tagged  to  her  skirts,  she  can  stop  where  she  likes. 
But  her  Dad  is  running  this  show.  I'm  here  to 
visit  Nolla,  and  I  stop  where  I  can  call  and  see 


166  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

her,  or  she  can  run  in  to  see  us,  without  wasting 
time  traveling  on  the  streets." 

"You  always  did  spoil  Nolla — while  poor  Bob 
has  to  take  third  place  in  your  affections,"  com- 
plained Mrs.  Maynard. 

"Bob's  mother  makes  up  for  any  lack  in  me. 
That's  why  I  have  to  give  double  love  to  Nolla 
and  Pete — Bob  has  all  of  yours." 

The  usual  ending  to  similar  scenes  might  have 
resulted,  had  not  Mr.  Maynard  gone  out  to  hurry 
over  to  the  Studio.  But  his  wife  and  Barbara 
sulkily  unpacked  their  trunks  and  made  very  fine 
toilets  before  they  thought  of  calling  at  the  Studio. 

Mr.  Maynard  rang  at  the  front  door  of  the 
Studio,  but  he  had  to  wait  a  few  moments  before 
the  door  opened.  From  within,  merry  laughter 
and  joyous  shouting  could  be  heard.  Then  in 
another  moment,  Eleanor  was  in  her  father's  arms 
and  was  dragging  him  into  the  happy  circle. 

The  Brewsters,  and  Paul  and  Pete  were  already 

/  there,  so  that  the  newcomer's  appearance  added 

another  reason  for  Polly  and  Eleanor's  happiness. 

"I  haven't  enough  china  to  go  around  for  such 
a  family!"  Mrs.  Stewart  said  plaintively,  as  she 
came  into  the  room  with  her  arms  dusted  with 
flour. 


CHRISTMAS  167 

"And  only  half  of  us  here,  too !"  laughed  Mr. 
Maynard. 

"What — more  on  the  way?"  exclaimed  Anne. 

"Nolla's  mother  and  Bob  will  be,  shortly." 

"Mother — and  Bob!"  cried  Eleanor,  eagerly, 
happy  that  her  mother  and  sister  cared  enough 
for  her  to  come  and  visit  her. 

"Now  that  adds  to  all  my  troubles,"  Mrs. 
Stewart  declared  as  she  dropped  into  a  nearby 
chair. 

"But  why — the  more  the  merrier,"  laughed 
Mrs.  Brewster. 

"Why — because  there  are  only  seven  straight 
chairs  in  this  stable.  All  the  others  are  great 
cushiony  things  that  won't  do  in  a  small  dining- 
room  such  as  ours." 

"Motherkins!"  said  Paul,  laughingly  picking 
his  mother  up  and  seating  her  upon  his  strong 
knees,  "Did  her  think  we-all  would  permit  her  to 
cook  a  great  supper  for  such  a  mob  ?" 

"Of  course — I  like  it,  dear,  but  I  am  staggered 
at  the  limitations — china  and  chairs." 

"Mrs.  Stewart,  we  are  not  going  to  eat  a  crumb 
in  this  house  during  the  Holidays,  unless  it  be  a 
theatre  supper  or  afternoon  tea !  That  is  all  set- 
tled beforehand.  Run  upstairs  and  put  on  vour 


1 68  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

evening  dress.  We  propose  making  a  party  of  it 
this  first  night,"  called  Mr.  Maynard,  trying  to 
make  himself  heard  above  the  general  din. 

"Is  it  your  party,  Dad?"  asked  Eleanor,  gayly. 

"Yes,  and  to  please  Bob  it  is  to  be  at  the  Ritz. 
To-morrow  it  will  be  Brewster's  turn,  and  that's 
up  to  him  to  say  where  we  go." 

"Oh,  Daddy — I  know  a  place!"  exclaimed 
Polly,  eagerly.  "Eleanor  and  I  have  never  been, 
but  we've  heard  lots  about  it  and  this  is  the  chance. 
We'll  all  go  down  to  Chinatown,  to-morrow!" 

A  wild  chorus  of  laughter  greeted  this  proposal, 
and  Polly  looked  surprised.  To  make  matters 
worse,  she  added  explanatorily:  "Why,  the  girls 
say  chop-suey  is  great!  And  at  Christmas  time 
the  Chinks'  stores  are  beautiful!  The  lovely 
things  one  can  buy  then  are  the  best  that  are  im- 
ported from  the  Orient." 

"We'll  do  Chinatown,  thoroughly,  Poll,  but  it 
may  not  be  to-morrow  night,"  promised  John,  who 
had  hitherto  been  completely  engaged  with  Anne's 
whispers  and  looks. 

Thereafter  followed  delight  upon  delight,  each 
day  filled  with  new  plans  and  exciting  fulfillments. 
Ken  and  his  parents,  the  four  Latimers,  the  Ash- 
bys,  Mr.  Fabian,  and  even  Mr.  Dalken,  were  in- 
cluded in  the  gay  whirl  of  these  pleasure-seekers. 


CHRISTMAS  169 

Mrs.  Maynard  and  Barbara  actually  enjoyed  the 
wholesome  fun  and  almost  forgot  to  be  affected 
or  snobbish.  To  associate  intimately  with  Mr. 
Dalken,  whose  social  standing  was  well-known  in 
Chicago,  as  well  as  in  other  large  cities,  was  ex- 
cuse enough  to  accept  all  the  other  friends.  But 
added  to  that  pleasure,  the  friendship  and  evident 
intimacy  the  Ashbys  and  Latimers  entertained 
for  Polly  and  Eleanor,  made  Mrs.  Maynard  feel 
there  might  be  hope  for  Nolla  in  the  future. 

Christmas  fell  on  the  Thursday  after  the  West- 
erners had  arrived  in  New  York;  and  considering 
all  the  fun  and  gadding  that  had  been  indulged 
in,  on  the  days  preceding  the  twenty-fifth,  that  day 
passed  quietly  for  all.  Each  family  enjoyed  its 
own  gathering  and  gifts,  and  all  assembled  at  the 
Ashbys  in  the  evening,  to  enjoy  music  and  danc- 
ing, and  everyone  declared  it  had  been  a  fine 
day! 

Friday  started  anew  the  excitement  of  planning 
and  enjoying  whatever  came  in  the  way  of  the 
party.  But  Saturday  night  had  been  set  aside  for 
Mr.  Dalken's  Christmas  party.  Elizabeth  was  in- 
vited to  bring  her  friends,  and  everyone  in  Polly's 
and  Eleanor's  friendship  ring  were  included. 

Mr.  Dalken  lived  in  modest  but  very  large 
rooms  of  a  bachelor  apartment  house,  downtown, 


1 70  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

and  here  he  had  an  enormous  tree  fixed  in  the 
center  of  the  living-room.  No  one  was  allowed 
to  see  that  room  until  all  had  assembled,  but  when 
the  doors  were  opened,  there  were  "ahs"  and 
"ohs"  from  everyone. 

The  tree  was  so  beautifully  trimmed  that  it 
seemed  a  pity  that  it  should  ever  be  dismantled, 
But  soon,  the  attractive  white  packages  tied  with 
red  ribbons,  filled  the  guests  with  curiosity;  and 
once  Eleanor  had  peeped  at  the  name  written  on 
one  box,  there  was  no  peace  but  her  host  must 
distribute  the  gifts. 

Mr.  Dalken  never  spared  time  or  money  when 
he  did  anything  for  his  friends,  and  his  Christmas 
Party  was  to  be  one  all  would  remember.  The 
gifts  were  carefully  selected  for  each  individual 
and  those  for  the  four  girls — Elizabeth,  Ruth 
Ashby,  Polly  and  Eleanor,  were  exquisite  and 
costly.  Elizabeth  had  craved  a  ring.  She  had  it. 
Ruth,  Polly,  and  Eleanor  each  had  a  long  barpin 
of  platinum  daintily  jewelled. 

With  her  usual  impetuosity,  Eleanor  suddenly 
sprang  up  and  hugged  Mr.  Dalken  gratefully  for 
her  gift.  Polly  smiled  and  shyly  shook  hands, 
while  Ruth  said  he  must  have  read  her  thoughts, 
for  shs  bad  asked  Dad  for  a  pin  and  had  been 


CHRISTMAS  171 

refused.  Now  she  had  it,  anyway,  and  from  her 
second-best  Dad.  Elizabeth  was  pleased,  too,  but 
merely  murmured  "Thanks,  Papa." 

"How  do  you  like  the  jewels  in  the  pins,  girls?" 
asked  Mr.  Latimer,  quizzically,  as  no  one  had 
mentioned  the  gems. 

Suddenly  Polly  looked  up  at  him.  She  caught 
the  twinkle  in  his  eyes,  and  instantly  wheeled  to 
look  at  the  other  men.  Each  one  was  smiling  as 
if  there  was  a  fine  secret  here. 

"I  just  know  these  are  Rainbow  Cliff  jewels  I" 
exclaimed  Polly,  joyously. 

"No — are  they?"  demanded  Eleanor,  holding 
the  pin  aloft  to  let  the  light  flash  over  and  through 
them. 

"Now  I  am  deeply  offended!  I  want  the  girls 
to  see  that  I  got  the  very  best  and  finest  stones  in 
New  York,  and  someone  dares  suggest  that  they 
may  be  lava !"  grumbled  Mr.  Dalken,  trying  to  be 
peevish. 

"I  can  find  out  by  taking  mine  to  Tiffany's,  to- 
morrow," said  Ruth,  wisely. 

"No,  you  won't — Tiffany  says  his  store  is  to  be 
closed  all  day  to-morrow,"  laughed  Mr.  Ashby. 

"Why — some  one  in  his  family  dead?"  asked 
Elizabeth. 


I72  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"No — but  it  is  Sunday,  and  he  is  a  church 
member." 

Every  one  laughed,  as  it  had  been  forgotten  the 
Sabbath  was  so  near  at  hand.  Then  Eleanor  had 
an  idea. 

"Why  wait  for  Tiffany?  Maybe  the  box  will 
give  us  a  clue."  So  she  founa  her  box  and  ex- 
amined it.  Inside  the  silk-padded  lid  were  the 
words  in  gold  ink:  "Rainbow  Cliffs'  Jewel  Com- 
pany." 

"Oh,  oh !  It  is  our  lava !  Polly,  now  you  can 
carry  a  little  of  Pebbly  Pit  about  with  you !"  cried 
Eleanor,  dancing  about. 

"Yes,  it  is  a  bit  of  Polly's  own  dear  heath. 
These  are  the  very  first  jewels  the  company  per- 
fected. And  as  I  am  one  of  the  corporation,  I 
wheedled  the  cutter  into  giving  me  his  first  output. 
So,  girls,  you  not  only  have  pretty  pins,  but  also 
you  have  what  may  be  considered  a  curiosity," 
explained  Mr.  Dalken. 

"Are  you  one  of  our  company?"  Polly  asked, 
eagerly. 

"Yes,  Mr.  Ashby  and  I  took  stock  soon  after 
the  fire,  because  we  said  this  was  going  to  be  a  big 
thing,  some  day." 

"I'm  so  glad,  Mr.  Dalken,"  said  Polly  simply, 
and  in  a  voice  that  only  he  could  hear.  "I  like 


CHRISTMAS  173 

you  so  much,  and  I'm  happy  to  know  that  you  and 
I  are  members,  together,  in  something." 

"Polly,  dear,  that  is  the  very  best  Christmas 
gift  I  have  had  in  years,"  murmured  Mr.  Dalken, 
feelingly. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  VALENTINES 

WITH  the  passing  of  this  gay  Holiday  Season, 
the  two  girls  began  to  feel  that  it  would  be  a  relief 
to  sit  down  once  more  and  spend  a  quiet  evening 
at  school.  Two  weeks  of  constant  going  and  dis- 
sipation had  become  tiresome. 

The  Westerners  had  gone  home  again;  John, 
Tom,  Paul  and  Pete  back  to  Chicago,  and  the  two 
boys,  Ken  and  Jim,  back  at  Yale ;  and  then  Mrs. 
Wellington's  school  reopened.  Lessons  went  on 
as  if  there  never  had  been  a  vacation,  and  on 
Wednesday  evening  of  that  same  week,  the  art 
school  resumed  classes. 

This  term  was  to  be  devoted  to  Applied  Design 
and  its  uses  in  architecture  and  decorations  of  in- 
teriors. After  having  had  such  interesting  work 
as  Egyptian  ornament,  art,  and  symbols,  it  seemed 
rather  dry  to  start  out  the  New  Year  with  drawing 
straight  lines  an  inch  long. 

Then  to  draw  a  dozen  of  these  lines — next  to 
174 


THE  VALENTINES  175 

connect  them  and  make  a  design  of  these  dozen 
simple  lines.  But  the  next  lesson  was  still  more 
foolish.  They  were  told  to  draw  a  square.  Then 
this  large  square  of  twenty  inches  each  side  was 
divided  into  smaller  squares.  And  in  each  of 
these  squares  the  pupils  were  told  to  draw  what- 
ever they  liked,  but  each  square  must  repeat  the 
first  one  figure  designed. 

Thus  the  scholars  found  that  they  had  a  pat- 
tern of  the  design.  This  began  to  look  more 
promising,  and  Eleanor  wished  she  had  paid  more 
attention  to  the  squares  so  that  the  design  would 
have  been  neater. 

The  next  lesson  was  on  grouping  certain  de- 
signs. The  talk  given  by  Mr.  Fabian  that  even- 
ing was  on  eye-measurement  and  judgment  in  lines. 

"Unless  one  has  a  good  eye  for  lines  in  any- 
thing, it  is  a  waste  of  time  to  study  a  profession 
that  is  based  fundamentally  on  a  true  judgment  of 
lines — whether  of  beauty,  grace,  or  usefulness. 
Unless  one  has  a  true  sense  of  'line'  one  can  never 
know  where  to  build  a  window,  a  door,  or  a  fire- 
place. 

"Not  only  does  'line*  govern  the  size  of  rooms 
and  halls,  but  the  entire  building  is  dependent  upon 
true  lines.  Also,  this  basis  line  governs  furniture 
and  decorations  in  an  interior. 


H76  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Can  you  picture  a  room  where  the  portieres 
are  all  of  different  lengths? — because  the  dec- 
orator had  no  sense  of  'line  value?'  And  what 
would  one  say  if  the  chairs  had  legs  of  various 
lengths?  Is  not  'line  value'  to  be  used  here,  too? 
It  is  found  necessary,  everywhere." 

So  the  lessons  and  lectures  continued  until  the 
girls  took  up  the  study  of  colors.  This  was  very 
interesting,  and  soon,  both  Polly  and  Eleanor 
knew  that  yellow,  blue  and  red  were  primary 
colors  and  they  could  glibly  tell  you  what  that 
meant,  and  how  important  a  part  the  knowledge 
played,  in  the  progressive  art  of  decorating. 

When  the  demonstration  of  these  lessons  began 
in  the  painting,  the  girls  realized  that  they  were 
actually  going  to  be  able  to  carry  home  samples 
of  their  work.  From  that  time  on,  they  showed 
more  zeal  in  doing  everything  as  correctly  and 
perfectly  as  possible.  And  Mr.  Fabian,  at  his 
next  monthly  report  to  Mr.  Ashby  (which  were 
quite  unknown  to  Polly  and  Eleanor)  said: 
"They're  deeply  interested  in  the  actual  art  and 
not  merely  for  the  fun  of  some  day  going  into 
business." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  it.  There  is  so  much  of  this 
idea  of  taking  up  interior  decorating  because  it  is 
comparatively  a  new  field,  but  so  few  really  ought 


THE  VALENTINES  177 

to  be  in  it.  It  should  be  made  a  matter  of  diplo- 
mas the  same  as  other  professions.  Then  the 
restriction  would  soon  clear  away  all  the  quacks 
in  the  art.  If  these  two  girls  but  escape  the  snares 
of  matrimony  until  they  are  finished  artists,  I  shall 
be  rejoiced  to  welcome  them  to  our  fold." 

Mr.  Fabian  nodded  approvingly,  and  mur- 
mured: "I  have  faith  in  them.  I'm  sure  that 
both  these  girls  are  sensible  and  not  to  be  easily 
influenced  by  a  good  looking  beau." 

Mr.  Ashby  smiled.  "They're  much  safer  in 
New  York  than  if  they  lived  in  smaller  towns. 
Girls  in  this  city  haven't  time  to  find  beaux  or 
think  of  husbands."  , 

"Don't  be  so  sure,  Mr.  Ashby,"  retorted  Mr. 
Fabian.  "If  the  girls  are  as  pretty  as  my  two 
are,  and  clever  and  rich  as  well,  they'd  find  it  hard 
to  escape." 

"But  you  are  speaking  of  society  girls,  while 
these  two  students  seldom  give  that  empty  life  a 
thought — I'm  glad  to  say." 

Which  conversation  goes  to  show  that  more 
than  one  adult  was  watching  the  experiment  these 
two  girls  were  unconsciously  making  of  their 
school  days,  with  intense  interest  and  a  desire  to 
aid. 

Polly  and  Eleanor  were  not  aware  of  all  that 


i78  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

had  been  done  to  insure  them  perfect  freedom  and 
liberty  to  continue  their  art  classes.  Had  they 
known  the  arguments  Mr.  Latimer  had  had  with 
Jim  and  Ken  to  keep  those  boys  from  usurping  so 
much  of  the  time  the  girls  had  to  devote  to  study  1 
Then  Jim  had  blustered  and  boasted  of  all  he 
would  do  once  he  was  at  college:  His  father 
wouldn't  know  how  many  letters  he  would  write, 
nor  the  visits  to  the  girls,  of  an  evening! 

And  one  reason  Tom  Latimer  and  John  seldom 
wrote  to  Polly  and  Eleanor,  was  because  of  Anne's 
suggestion — to  leave  the  girls  to  plan  their  spare 
time  for  their  very  own  work,  and  not  be  made 
to  feel  that  they  had  letters  to  answer,  all  the  time. 

It  was  Tom  who  had  begged  Jim  not  to  waste 
his  own,  or  the  girls'  time,  in  writing  silly  letters 
or  in  traveling  back  and  forth  from  college  to  New 
York.  And  Tom,  wise  big  brother  that  he  was, 
took  Jim  into  his  confidence  and  explained  how 
anxious  John  and  he  were  to  have  Polly  climb  to 
the  top  of  the  ladder  in  her  art.  That  she  had  to 
make  good  in  New  York  those  first  two  years  or 
go  back  home  and  starve  her  artistic  soul  on  a 
lonesome  ranch. 

But  Valentine's  Day  was  coming,  and  Jim  felt 
that  on  that  day  he  would  be  privileged  to  not  only 


THE  VALENTINES  179 

write  to  the  girls,  but  to  send  each  one  a  fine  valen- 
tine, describing  his  sentiments. 

Polly  and  Eleanor  could  not  forget  Valentine's 
Day  was  at  hand,  for  every  shop-window  they 
passed  invited  sentimental  people  to  step  in  and 
see  the  love  cards. 

"I'd  like  to  send  a  perfect  dear  to  Mr.  Dalken, 
Nolla,"  said  Polly,  reading  the  verse  on  a  card. 

"To  Mr.  Dalken!  Why,  Poll,  he  is  an  old 
married  man!" 

"But  what  of  that!  Can't  I  send  him  a  card 
that  states  how  much  I  like  him?" 

"Oh,  ye-es — I  suppose  so;  but  valentines  are 
really  meant  for  lovers,  you  see." 

"It's  nothing  of  the  kind,  Nolla.  Dear  old  St. 
Valentine  never  meant  all  his  notes  for  lovers ;  but 
for  everyone  he  loved!  and  that  is  very  different, 
I  think." 

"Well,  send  yours  to  anyone  you  like,  but  I  am 
going  to  buy  one  for  Jim,"  said  Eleanor,  search- 
ing over  the  piles  of  cards  on  the  tray,  but  not 
finding  what  she  sought. 

"Oh,  Nolla,"  laughed  Polly,  teasingly.  "Are 
you  selecting  Jim  for  your  first  love?" 

"First  love!  I  should  say  double  no!  I  am 
hunting  for  a  comic  one  for  him — just  because  he 


i8o  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

is  so  sentimental  and  sits  with  moony  eyes  when  he 
is  near  any  pretty  girl.  I  thought  I  would  die 
with  laughter  that  night  he  sat  and  gazed  with 
soulful  eyes  at  Ruth." 

Finally  the  girls  found  several  very  funny  cards 
which  had  sarcastic  lines  under  the  pictures.  These 
they  were  going  to  mail  to  Jim  and  Ken.  Then 
Eleanor  had  an  idea. 

"I  just  guess  I'll  mail  one  each  to  John,  Tom, 
Pete  and  Paul,  too.  If  I  dared,  I'd  get  Pete  to 
re-mail  one  to  Bob  so  she  wouldn't  know  who  sent 
it.  Being  postmarked  'Chicago'  she'd  break  her 
head  trying  to  think  who  sent  it  to  her." 

"Oh,  that  will  be  fun,  Nolla.  Have  them  re- 
mailed  so  the  boys  won't  know  we  sent  them.  Let's 
do  that  with  all  of  ours." 

The  need  of  secrecy,  and  the  trouble  of  select- 
ing appropriate  lines  for  each  of  their  friends, 
took  time.  But  Eleanor  wired  her  father  to  keep 
the  secret  and  do  the  mailing  for  them,  and  he 
wired  back  his  consent.  So  the  valentines  meant 
for  the  Chicago  friends  went  to  Mr.  Maynard, 
and  duly  reached  each  one  as  had  been  intended. 

And  those  for  Jim  and  Ken  were  handed  to  a 
porter  on  the  train  that  ran  to  New  Haven,  with  a 
liberal  tip  if  he  would  drop  them  in  a  letter-box 
when  he  jumped  from  the  train.  His  wide  grin 


THE  VALENTINES  181 

showed  he  was  ready  to  abet  the  pranks  such  gen- 
erous pretty  young  misses  planned  to  tease  their 
beaux. 

Elizabeth  Dalken  had  taken  a  violent  fancy  to 
Jim  Latimer  when  she  met  him  at  the  different 
Christmas  parties,  and  Valentine's  Day  being  an 
opportunity  for  love-lorn  misses  and  youths,  she 
bought  a  very  expensive  Valentine,  with  sentiment 
as  soft  as  down,  and  suggestive  of  heart-aches  and 
sighs  and  what-not. 

But  Elizabeth  had  no  independence,  whatever, 
and  once  she  had  the  Valentine  boxed  and  ready 
to  post,  she  wished  she  knew  someone  who  would 
address  it.  She  feared  to  have  her  own  cramped 
writing  seen  on  it. 

In  Mrs.  Wellington's  school  was  a  clever  girl 
who  could  imitate  hand-writing  to  perfection,  and 
Elizabeth  presented  her  with  a  box  of  bon-bons  a 
few  days  before  Valentine's  Day.  Then  the  fol- 
lowing day  she  asked  a  favor.  Would  Myrtle  ad- 
dress a  box  for  her? 

Myrtle  comprehended,  but  the  candies  had  been 
delicious  so  she  laughed:  "Got  a  valentine  to 
send?" 

"Yes,  but  it  is  a  joke.  I  want  the  receiver  to 
believe  Eleanor  Maynard  sent  it.  Can  you  imi- 
tate her  writing?" 


582  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Easy  as  pie.  Get  me  her  exercise  from  this 
noon's  class." 

And  in  short  order  the  box  was  addressed  in 
Eleanor's  hand-writing.  Elizabeth  mailed  it,  and 
the  day  following  the  I4th,  Jim  mailed,  what  he 
considered,  a  lover's  work  of  art — such  ardent 
lines  and  such  sentiment  seldom  entered  his 
thoughts,  but  the  mushy  words  of  the  valentine 
excused  his  letter. 

"W-e-11 — Jim's  gone  clean  mad!"  gasped 
Eleanor. 

"Is  the  thick  letter  from  him?"  asked  Polly. 

"Yes,  but  read  it,  Poll,  and  tell  me  what  ails 
him." 

Polly  read,  but  not  without  giggles  and  mauy  a 
lifted  eyebrow  when  she  came  to  the  extra  fine 
phrases  of  love-making. 

"Nolla,  he  sure  is  daffy.  Can  you  see  through 
it?" 

"Not  at  all.  I  expected  a  comic  from  him — not 
this." 

"Nolla,  do  you  think  anyone  we  know  would 
send  him  a  soft  valentine  and  pretend  it  came  from 
you?" 

"Maybe — for  a  joke!  Now  who  would  do  it?" 

They  asked  Anne,  and  showed  her  the  letter. 
She  laughed  with  them,  but  when  they  were  not 


THE  VALENTINES  183 

present,  she  sat  down  and  wrote  to  Jim — a  nice 
sisterly  letter  cuttingly  blunt  that  told  him  that  she 
had  her  hands  full  with  school  and  girls,  and 
house,  so  that  any  extra  care  would  drive  her  in- 
sane. Letters  such  as  the  one  that  came  to  Nolla, 
were  the  worst  danger  she  had  to  ward  off  from 
the  girls. 

By  the  last  mail  on  the  thirteenth  and  during  the 
day  of  the  fourteenth  other  valentines  came  for 
Polly  and  Eleanor;  some  of  real  merit  as  tokens 
of  friendship;  some  of  beauty;  and  many  with  a 
little  line  of  love.  But  Polly  received  no  vague  or 
sentimental  one  during  Valentine's  day. 

That  evening,  however,  the  bell  rang,  and  Mrs. 
Stewart  asked  who  was  there.  The  girls  were 
already  upstairs. 

"Messenger  with  a  box." 

"Mother — wait  till  I  get  there !"  called  Anne, 
anxiously. 

In  another  moment,  Anne,  in  a  negligee,  ran 
downstairs  and  opened  the  street-door  which 
opened  into  a  vestibule. 

A  large  long  box  was  handed  in  and  Anne 
signed  the  book.  It  was  addressed  to  "Miss  Polly 
Brewster,  Studio,  1003  East  Thirtieth  Street,  New 
York." 

"Polly,  here's  a  great  box  of  flowers  from  some- 


1 84  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

one,"  Anne  called,  standing  at  the  foot  of  the 
stairs. 

"For  me?" 

"Your  name  is  on  the  tag,"  said  Anne. 

Instantly,  Polly  and  Eleanor  scrambled  down- 
stairs and  Polly  tremblingly  tried  to  untie  the 
string  about  the  box. 

"Dear  me — it  won't  even  break !"  said  she,  try- 
ing to  tear  the  cord  by  pulling  at  it. 

"Here — take  the  knife !"  cried  Eleanor,  having 
dashed  to  the  dining-room  to  catch  up  a  silver 
knife,  and  returning  with  it. 

The  string  was  cut,  the  lid  taken  off,  and  sev- 
eral wrappers  of  oiled  paper  removed.  Then, 
there,  upon  a  bed  of  lace-paper  rested  a  dozen  of 
magnificent  American  Beauties,  with  stems  more 
than  a  yard  long.  And  to  the  cluster,  about  the 
middle  of  the  stems,  was  attached  a  fine  golden 
cord  holding  a  papier  mache  heart.  The  heart 
had  a  golden  arrow  half-buried  in  its  plump  center. 

"What  wonderful  roses  1"  breathed  Polly. 

"Isn't  the  heart  cute !"  giggled  Eleanor. 

"No  card,  or  sign,  to  say  where  they  came 
from?"  asked  Anne,  picking  the  heart  up  care- 
fully. 

"Oh,  there's  another  heart — see !  On  the  point 
of  the  arrow  at  the  back,"  cried  Eleanor.  And 


THE  VALENTINES  185 

there  was  another  heart  fastened  to  the  first  one 
by  means  of  the  sharp  arrow. 

The  girls  sought  carefully  for  some  clue  of  the 
sender,  but  the  sweet  perfume  wafted  from  the 
roses  was  all  that  rewarded  their  search. 

"Whoever  it  was,  he  is  a  dear!"  said  Polly, 
fondly  touching  the  waxen  stems. 

"And  we'll  try  to  keep  them  as  long  as  possible 
so,  whoever  it  was,  will  see  that  we  appreciate  the 
flowers,"  said  Anne,  going  for  water. 

"At  last  I  have  found  a  use  for  that  tall  vase  I 
bought  that  first  week  of  auctions,"  laughed  Elea- 
nor, taking  the  glass  from  under  the  window-seat. 

Scarcely  were  the  roses  arranged  to  satisfy  the 
admiring  group,  when  the  bell  rang  again.  Elea- 
nor being  nearest  the  door,  ran  out  to  the  small 
vestibule  and  peeped  through  the  window  in  the 
street-door. 

"Well,  of  all  things!  Another  messenger. 
Maybe  he  has  a  valentine  for  me." 

The  door  was  opened,  Eleanor  said  "yes"  to  his 
query  if  Mrs.  Stewart  lived  there,  and  having 
signed  the  book,  hurried  in  with  a  tier  of  boxes. 
There  were  four  in  all. 

"Miss  Anne  Stewart  the  first  on  top,"  read 
Polly. 

The  second  was  for  Mrs.  Stewart,  and  the  third 


1 86  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

for  Polly,  the  last  being  Eleanor's.  Each  box  con- 
tained a  beautiful  spray  of  cut  flowers  but  no  card. 
Not  even  a  suggestion  of  the  sender. 

"Well,  it  beats  all.  Why  couldn't  our  admirers 
have  sent  our  flowers  in  the  morning,"  laughed 
Anne. 

Again  the  bell  pealed.  "It  surely  can't  be  more 
flowers!"  laughed  Polly,  running  to  the  door.  But 
it  was.  A  card  on  the  outside  read:  "Say  it  with 
Flowers,"  to  Miss  Anne  Stewart. 

By  this  time  everyone  was  laughing  and  trying 
to  guess  who  could  have  sent  the  blossoms.  And 
had  the  bell  sounded  again,  no  one  would  have 
been  surprised.  But  it  didn't,  and  after  guessing 
of  all  impossible  persons  who  might  be  the  send- 
ers of  the  flower-valentines,  Anne  ventured: 
"Someone  may  have  telegraphed  to  New  York 
this  morning,  you  know,  to  send  us  these  flowers, 
at  once.  I've  heard  said,  the  florists  were  so 
rushed  to-day  with  valentine  orders  that  they 
couldn't  secure  enough  flowers  from  the  wholesale 
shops." 

"Thafs  about  it!"  declared  Eleanor.  "John 
sent  you  this  last  box,  and  maybe  Daddy  sent  us 
each  the  smaller  boxes.  But  who  could  have  sent 
Polly  a  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  American  Beau- 
ties?" 


THE  VALENTINES  187 

Finally  they  went  to  bed  with  the  great  question 
still  unsolved;  and  Polly  often  wondered,  there- 
after, if  Mr.  Dalken  could  have  sent  her  those 
roses?  Had  she  guessed  the  truth,  would  she  have 
been  content  to  go  on  so  serenely  with  her  studies 
of  interior  decorating? 


CHAPTER  XII 

MR.  FABIAN  PLOTS  FOR  FACTS 

"THE  roses  kept  for  more  than  two  weeks,  fill- 
ing the  Studio  rooms  with  fragrance,  but  keeping 
their  secret  as  to  who  had  sent  them  to  Polly.  She 
had  gone  to  everyone  she  knew  and  tried  to  find 
out  who  had  given  them  to  her.  Then  she  be- 
guiled Mr.  Ashby  into  finding  out  if  Mr.  Dalken 
was  the  guilty  one.  And  when  he  was  found  inno- 
cent, she  bribed  Mr.  Dalken  to  find  out  if  the 
Latimers  or  the  Evans  sent  them — but  she  could 
not  see  why  anyone  should  spend  so  much  money 
on  her,  and  try  to  hide  the  fact. 

When  Mr.  Fabian  was  satisfied  that  it  was  not 
one  of  their  old  friends  who  had  sent  the  roses, 
he  thought  of  a  way  to  find  out.  The  box  had  had 
the  name  on  its  cover,  of  one  of  Fifth  avenue's 
most  fashionable  florists,  so  he  went  there  and 
tried  to  learn  what  he  wanted  to  know,  by  asking 
the  proprietor. 

But  the  man  smiled  and  shook  his  head.  "We 
188 


MR.  FABIAN  189 

are  never  allowed  to  divulge  state  secrets,  Mr. 
Fabian." 

"Not  even  when  that  secret  concerns  a  protegee 
of  mine?  I  do  not  wish  to  use  the  knowledge,  but 
merely  to  relieve  my  mind." 

"If  I  were  to  tell  you,  Mr.  Fabian,  I  should 
have  to  also  tell  the  six  other  individuals  who 
begged  me  to  tell  them  confidentially  who  ordered 
the  roses." 

"Six  others !  Have  others  been  here  to  ask 
this  same  question?"  asked  Mr.  Fabian,  amazed. 

The  florist  laughed.  "Yes,  that  pretty  miss 
seems  to  be  very  popular.  Who  is  she,  anyway?" 

"A  little  girl  that  attends  my  art  class,  and  I 
am  bound  to  keep  her  mind  free  from  nonsense 
until  her  education  is  finished." 

"Can  you  keep  a  secret — on  your  oath?"  asked 
the  florist. 

"Yes,  yes !"  eagerly  agreed  Mr.  Fabian,  think- 
ing he  was  now  going  to  hear  who  sent  the  roses. 

"Well,  then,  this  much  I  may  tell  you — just 
to  ease  your  fears:  the  individual  who  sent  those 
roses  is  as  anxious  as  you  can  be,  to  keep  the  girl's 
heart  and  mind  free  from  nonsense  and  to  allow 
her  to  complete  her  art  education  without  thoughts 
of  beaux." 

"Is  that  all  you've  got  to  say?" 


190  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"My  goodness,  don't  you  appreciate  that  much  I 
You  only  wanted  to  know  something  to  ease  your 
mind,  and  now  I  have  told  you." 

"How  do  you  know  what  the  gentleman  thinks 
or  wants?" 

"I  was  told  so  by  the  one  who  ordered  the  roses. 
But  I  did  not  tell  you  it  was  a  gentleman." 

This  was  still  more  disconcerting  to  Mr.  Fa- 
bian, but  he  never  told  a  soul  that  he  had  visited 
the  florist.  He  did  wonder,  however,  if  the  man 
had  given  the  others  the  same  confidence  he  had 
imparted  confidentially  to  him. 

Polly,  the  cause  of  all  this  secret  concern  of  her 
friends,  had  forgotten  all  about  the  valentine,  and 
was  devoting  her  entire  time  and  attention  to  the 
absorbing  lessons  at  art  school. 

Easter  Week  came  early,  and  the  term  begin- 
ning immediately  after  the  Easter  Holidays,  would 
start  a  course  on  mural  decorations,  and  the  study 
of  tapestries.  So  interesting  had  their  night- 
classes  become,  that  Polly  and  Eleanor  neglected 
their  studies  at  day-school.  Anne  noticed  their 
daily  marks  and  worried  over  it.  At  last  she  con- 
sulted with  Mr.  Fabian. 

"You  must  realize,  Mr.  Fabian,  that  the  girls 
are  still  young.  Even  if  they  were  prepared  to 
enter  the  profession  they  are  proposing  to  followv 


MR.  FABIAN  191 

they  would  be  too  young  in  years  to  make  a  suc- 
cess of  it.  People  are  not  apt  to  turn  over  con- 
tracts for  art  or  decorating,  to  girls  under  twenty. 
Therefore  I  advise  you  to  make  them  drop  their 
night  school  until  after  they  have  caught  up  in 
their  day  classes." 

Mr.  Fabian  was  secretly  pleased  at  the  news 
that  his  two  pet  scholars  preferred  his  teachings 
to  the  dry  high-school  lessons.  But  he  dared  not 
express  his  satisfaction  to  Anne. 

"All  you  say  is  true,  but  there  is  no  need  for  my 
girls  to  give  up  their  art  class.  The  night  school 
closes  for  a  two  weeks'  holiday  at  Easter,  and 
then,  as  warm  weather  comes  on  apace,  I  find  my 
pupils  begin  to  lose  zeal  in  their  constant  attend- 
ance at  class.  You  will  see  that  Polly  and  Eleanor 
will  turn  more  to  their  day  studies,  then.  But  I 
would  not  advise  you  to  cut  off  their  pursuit  in  art 
work,  now.  It  will  only  create  deeper  zest  for  it, 
and  turn  their  thoughts  completely  from  day- 
studies." 

Anne  replied  that  this  was  logical,  and  so  the 
girls  never  knew  that  they  had  been  standing  upon 
the  danger-line  of  having  to  suspend  their  favorite 
studies. 

Mr.  Fabian  was  roused  to  a  more  temperate  art 
"diet"  for  the  two  girls,  thereafter.  And  Polly 


i92  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

and  Eleanor  found,  as  Spring  advanced,  that  les- 
sons in  night  school  were  simpler  and  not  quite  so 
absorbing  to  their  time,  as  those  of  the  recent 
weeks  had  been. 

In  the  mural  decoration  study  that  began  with 
the  new  Spring  term,  the  pupils  found  that,  begin- 
ning with  the  order  of  antiquity,  Egyptian  first, 
and  then  Greek,  Roman,  Medieval,  Moresque  and 
Persian  styles — much  of  their  work  done  in  the 
other  classes  now  proved  useful.  In  fact,  the  his- 
torical studies  of  these  races  of  people  and  their 
periods  of  time,  proved  valuable  in  review,  for 
the  further  perfection  of  mural  art. 

So  when  they  were  given  a  design  to  do  in 
"wave  ornament"  it  was  at  once  recognised  as 
Egyptian  art.  Or  should  a  wall  decoration  be  re- 
quired where  geometrical  forms  were  the  principle, 
the  pupils  remembered  the  religion  of  the  Arabs 
and  Moors  which  restricted  them  to  the  use  of 
natural  forms  which  would  not  conflict  with  their 
worship. 

Thus  Polly  and  Eleanor  began  to  understand 
how  important  their  previous  lessons  had  been,  and 
how  necessary  it  was  for  every  earnest  student  of 
art  to  be  present  at  each  class,  that  no  connecting 
link  in  instruction  might  be  dropped  and  lost. 

As  the  weeks  went  by,  and  the  end  of  the  term 


MR.  FABIAN  193 

drew  near,  the  night  classes  thinned  out  percept- 
ibly, many  of  the  less  enthusiastic  pupils  prefer- 
ring out-door  sports  to  close  application  to  art 
pursuits.  But  Polly  and  Eleanor  found  their 
pleasure  in  hearing  all  Mr.  Fabian  had  to  say  to 
them  on  various  subjects. 

Perhaps  the  girls  might  not  have  been  so  keen 
for  school  during  the  warm  evenings,  had  not  Mr. 
Fabian's  knowledge  and  fascinating  descriptions 
of  anything  pertaining  to  his  profession,  been  so 
freely  given  them  at  all  times.  He  continued  to 
discover  exhibits,  lectures,  and  other  educational 
pastimes,  to  which  he  conducted  his  favorite  pupils, 
so  that  there  was  no  dearth  of  material  to  aid  and 
demonstrate  his  teachings. 

As  June  came  in,  Polly  found  New  York  not 
nearly  as  cool  and  pleasant  an  abode  as  Pebbly  Pit 
with  its  altitude  upon  the  crests  of  the  Rockies. 
And  she  longed  for  a  breath  of  the  mountain  air 
that  would  renew  jaded  senses.  Both  Eleanor  and 
Polly  began  to  show  the  strain  of  the  close  applica- 
tion to  study  that  they  had  had  since  October,  so 
Anne  was  thankful  that  the  schools  would  soon 
,  close  for  the  Summer. 

Then  the  last  class  in  Cooper  Union  ended,  and 
Mr.  Fabian  escorted  his  girls  to  their  home.  Al- 
ready, they  were  planning  for  the  coming  year  of 


i94  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

work,  but  their  instructor  smiled  and  interrupted. 

"I  have  refused  an  offer  to  continue  my  classes 
in  the  school,  so  I  will  not  be  there  next  year." 

"What!"  gasped  Polly. 

"Not  teach  us !"  cried  Eleanor. 

"Not  teach  at  Cooper — no.  I  feel  that  I  am 
not  strong  enough  to  keep  up  such  arduous  labors; 
and  so  many  there  do  not  seem  to  appreciate  what 
I  am  sacrificing  for  them.  I  find  there  are  some 
people  who  think  that,  because  a  thing  is  free,  it 
is  not  as  valuable  as  if  they  had  to  pay  for  it.  You 
can  see,  for  yourselves,  how  many  scholars 
dropped  out  of  the  classes  when  other  diversions 
offered  themselves.  They  join  an  art  class  and 
attend  it  when  nothing  else  can  be  had.  They 
take  my  thought  and  time,  and  when  they  weary 
of  the  routine,  they  fail  to  appear.  It  is  very  dis- 
heartening. But  it  is  so  every  year,  and  I  am  tired 
of  trying  to  keep  up  the  interest  of  such  lazy 
leeches." 

Polly  and  Eleanor  heard  their  dear  professor's 
words  in  sorry  silence.  What  would  night  school 
be  without  him  ? 

I  "But  I  have  planned  a  far  different  school  be- 
ginning with  next  October.  I  have  chosen  the 
faithful  few  who  really  mean  business,  and  to  these 
I  shall  offer  my  services  for  a  small  return.  I 


MR.  FABIAN  195 

feel  sure  that  this  will  mean  greater  benefit  to 
individuals  in  a  small  class,  as  I  can  devote  much 
more  time  to  each  student  and  give  better  advice 
wherever  it  is  needed.  I  have  thought  of  seven 
scholars  for  my  little  school." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Fabian— I  do  hope  Polly  and  I  are 
among  them!"  exclaimed  Eleanor,  anxiously. 

Mr.  Fabian  smiled.  "Perhaps  it  was  because 
of  Polly  and  you  that  I  thought  of  this  idea.  You 
two  girls  really  should  have  personal  instruction, 
instead  of  having  to  waste  hours  in  a  general  class 
waiting  for  delinquents  to  catch  up  with  you. 

"That  has  always  been  the  weak  spot  in  any 
large  class;  there  are  those  who  forge  ahead 
eagerly,  and  the  lazy  ones  who  miss  a  class  every 
few  nights,  causing  the  whole  body  to  delay  and 
wait  while  they  work  to  catch  up  on  what  they 
have  missed. 

"When  the  few  ambitious  workers  can  be 
grouped  together  and  not  hampered  by  the 
leeches,  one  can  readily  see  how  much  better  it 
is  for  all  concerned.  This  is  what  I  propose 
doing." 

"Oh,  it  will  be  splendid !  and  I  am  glad,  for  one, 
to  be  able  to  look  forward  to  such  teachings,  To 
know  that  we  can  ask  all  the  questions  freely,  and 
not  have  to  wait  to  have  the  easiest  lesson  ex- 


'196  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

plained  to  the  thick-headed,  will  be  a  great  relief," 
said  Polly,  gratefully. 

At  the  door  of  the  Studio,  Mr.  Fabian  said 
good-by.  "I  am  planning  to  sail  for  Europe  very 
soon,  my  dears,  and  I  am  looking  forward  to  a 
good  time  with  my  little  family.  We  intend  visit- 
ing all  the  famous  places  of  interest  to  an  artist, 
and  when  I  return  in  the  Fall,  I  will  be  able  to  tell 
you  about  the  great  cathedrals,  the  wonderful  col- 
lections of  antiques,  and  other  sights." 

"As  for  Polly  and  me — we  won't  be  able  to  give 
you  any  such  tales,  as  we  are  going  to  spend  our 
vacation  at  Pebbly  Pit,  again.  But  we  will  bring 
back  plenty  of  health  and  renewed  zeal,"  laughed 
Eleanor. 

"Ah!  That  is  what  I  need  of  you  now,  chil- 
dren. See  that  you  fill  out  the  hollows  in  your 
cheeks,  and  gather  ample  strength  and  health  for 
another  strenuous  year  in  New  York.  I  plan  to 
put  both  of  you  on  the  firing-line  next  school-year." 

"We'll  not  fail  you,  Mr.  Fabian,"  promised 
Polly,  taking  his  hand  a  second  time  and  patting 
it  fondly. 

"Then  I'll  not  fail  you,  dear  students  1"  re- 
sponded Mr.  Fabian,  stooping  and  kissing  each 
girl  affectionately  on  the  forehead,  then  taking  his 
leave. 


MR.  FABIAN  197 

A  few  days  after  this  the  Studio  was  swathed 
in  dust-covers,  the  windows  locked  and  shuttered, 
the  burglar  alarm  attached,  and  at  last  the  front 
door  was  closed  by  a  representative  from  the  in- 
surance company.  The  four  tenants  were  on  their 
way  to  Grand  Central  where  Jim  Latimer  and 
Kenneth  Evans  were  to  meet  them.  They  then 
were  going  to  take  the  Twentieth  Century  Limited 
to  Chicago. 

Jim  and  Ken  had  been  engaged  by  Carew,  to 
join  his  camp  of  surveyors  in  the  mountains  for 
this  second  season's  work;  and,  as  Polly  and  her 
friends  were  to  spend  the  summer  vacation  at 
Pebbly  Pit,  it  was  quite  natural  that  all  six  should 
journey  westward,  together. 

Mr.  Dalken  and  the  Ashbys  came  to  see  the 
friends  off,  and  as  the  parent  Larimers  and  Evans 
were  with  their  boys  to  the  last,  there  was  a  large 
merry  party  to  accompany  the  travelers  to  the 
Pullman. 

"Don't  be  surprised  to  see  me  bring  the  Ash- 
bys to  Pebbly  Pit  in  my  touring  car,  some  fine  day, 
soon,"  announced  Mr.  Dalken. 

"Oh,  that  would  be  lovely!"  cried  Polly, 
eagerly. 

"And  leave  Ruth  with  us  for  the  Summer?" 
added  Eleanor. 


i98  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Yes,  yes,  Daddy — I'd  love  to  spend  my  vaca* 
tion  with  Polly  and  Eleanor  at  the  ranch!"  ex- 
claimed Ruth  Ashby. 

"Where  would  you  put  us  all — even  if  we  did 
come?"  asked  Mrs.  Ashby,  who  had  heard  of  the 
limitations  of  the  ranch-house. 

"Oh,  you  forget!  John  writes  that  we  will  be 
surprised  to  find  the  marvelous  work  that  has  gone 
on  at  the  Cliffs.  Not  only  is  the  great  road  down 
through  the  Devil's  Causeway  completed  for  heavy 
traffic,  but  rows  and  rows  of  buildings  back  of  the 
Imps  are  ready  for  occupancy,  the  moment  the 
machinery  is  set  up  for  work  on  the  lava.  If  the 
miners  have  not  yet  taken  possession  of  the  bar- 
racks we  could  invite  loads  of  people  to  visit  the 
ranch." 

Polly  spoke  eagerly,  and  her  eyes  shone  as  she 
beheld  her  friends  enjoying  the  Brewster  hospi- 
tality. 

Everyone  laughed  at  her  anxiety  to  have  them 
visit  her,  and  Mr.  Dalken  promised :  "I'll  do  my 
best  to  bring  my  friends,  Polly." 

A  quizzical  look  in  his  eyes  suddenly  caused 
Polly  to  remember  the  valentine  she  had  sent 
him.  She  smiled  back  at  him,  but  as  suddenly 
another  thought  flashed  into  her  mind. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Dalken,  I've  wanted  to  ask  you  for 


MR.  FABIAN  199 

the  longest  time !  Now  that  it  is  ancient  history, 
you  won't  mind  confessing,  will  you?" 

Mr.  Dalken  shook  his  head  as  a  concession  to 
her  eager  look.  And  Polly  continued :  "Did  you 
send  me  those  American  Beauties'  valentine?" 

A  roar  greeted  this  question,  as  everyone  of  the 
grown-ups  had  asked  the  same  question  of  Mr. 
Dalken  months  before.  And  Mr.  Dalken  not 
only  repudiated  any  knowledge  of  the  valentine 
but  told  how  he  had  visited  the  florist  and  had  not 
been  able  to  ascertain  who  the  Cupid  really  was. 

"Polly,  I  will  confess,  as  they  say  that  open  con- 
fession is  good  for  the  soul.  I  was  guilty  of  send- 
ing four  boxes  of  flowers  to  the  Studio  on  Valen- 
tine Day,  to  four  charming  friends,  but  I  showed 
no  partiality,  I  think,  in  the  bouquets.  I  would 
like  to  know,  myself,  who  the  Cupid  was  who  sent 
such  gorgeous  roses  as  you  received." 

"I  wonder !  I'm  sure  it  wasn't  Jim,"  here  Polly 
looked  searchingly  at  the  young  student,  and  he 
shook  his  head  laughingly. 

"I  couldn't  have,  had  I  wanted  to.  My  pocket 
money  went  for  that  love-sonnet  that  was  so 
harshly  condemned,"  said  he. 

"And  I'm  sure  Ken  never  dreamed  of  doing  it. 
Then  there  is  Mr.  Latimer  and  the  doctor — they 
are  both  innocent,  I  know,  as  they  never  think 


200  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

of  anything  other  than  the  old  patented  jewel 
cutter." 

As  Polly  explained  thus  in  earnest  tones,  every- 
one laughed  at  the  two  men  so  calmly  criticised 
for  their  absorption  in  patents. 

"So  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it  was  my  own 
Daddy.  He  always  did  send  me  the  cutest  valen- 
tines each  year,  and  I  received  no  card  from  him 
this  year — so  that  is  who  it  was !"  declared  Polly. 

"And  the  only  kind  of  a  Cupid  to  have,  these 
days,  Polly,"  approved  Mr.  Dalken. 

But  the  happy  circle  standing  on  the  platform 
of  the  train-shed  were  now  notified  that  the  pas- 
sengers must  get  on  as  the  train  would  leave  in  a 
few  moments. 

Good-bys  were  said,  hands  shaken,  kisses 
wafted  from  the  girls  to  the  group  remaining  in 
New  York,  and  then  the  travelers  were  gone. 

Scarcely  had  the  train  slowed  up  in  the  Chicago 
Terminal  before  John  and  Tom  Latimer  were 
on  board,  pushing  a  way  through  the  Pullmans,  in 
search  of  familiar  faces. 

"There  they  are — there  comes  John  I"  cried 
Polly,  excitedly,  jumping  up  and  pointing  to  the 
other  end  of  the  coach. 

"Oh — !"  sighed  Anne,  flushing  joyously  as  her 
glance  rested  upon  her  fiance. 


MR.  FABIAN  201 

But  John  had  no  eyes  for  anyone  but  Anne. 
Polly  was  left  standing  with  hands  out-stretched, 
her  whole  soul  quivering  with  anticipation  of  her 
beloved  brother's  greeting,  and  now  he  forgot 
she  was  alive !  Then  Paul  Stewart  and  Pete  May- 
nard  ran  in. 

Mrs.  Stewart  was  embraced  by  Paul,  and  Pete 
hugged  his  sister  Eleanor.  Tom  Latimer  stood 
a  pace  apart,  his  features  working  desperately  to 
control  his  feelings  as  he  saw  John  joyously  scan- 
ning Anne's  face,  and  Polly  limply  sitting  down 
in  the  parlor  chair.  Then  he  quickly  went  over 
and  greeted  her. 

"Polly,  and  you  boys" — turning  to  Jim  and  Ken- 
neth— "we  sure  are  happy  to  see  you-all  again. 
My,  what  a  change  New  York  has  made  in  you. 
I  see  quite  a  wonderful  young  lady,  where  once  I 
remember  my  little  ranch  pal  with  pigtails.'* 
Tom  tried  to  laugh  merrily. 

Kenneth  suddenly  launched  into  a  silly  conversa- 
tion to  cheer  Polly.  But  Polly  never  could  dis- 
simulate, and  she  was  too  deeply  hurt  at  her 
brother's  neglect  to  pretend  to  be  merry.  John, 
however,  now  turned  to  embrace  and  kiss  his  sister, 
and  evidently  had  had  no  thought  of  neglecting 
her. 

"Come,  children,  we  must  get  out  or  we'll  be 


202  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

carried  to  the  round-house,"  suggested  Jim  Lati- 
mer,  taking  up  certain  bags. 

Once  on  the  platform  where  Mr.  Maynard  wel- 
comed them,  Tom  said :  "When  do  Ken  and  you 
go  on  to  Denver?" 

"On  the  next  train,  leaving  here  at  two.  That 
gives  us  an  hour  and  a  half  with  you." 

"Anyone  want  dinner,  or  did  you  eat  on  the 
train?"  now  asked  Paul  Stewart. 

"All  dined,  but  now  waiting  for  someone  to 
suggest  a  party  for  Ken  and  I,  as  we  go  on  in  a 
little  while,"  said  Jim. 

"Here!"  offered  Mr.  Maynard.  "Pile  into 
taxis  and  we'll  be  at  the  house  in  a  jiffy.  No  place 
like  home  when  there's  no  other  place  to  go  to." 

So,  laughing,  the  entire  party  bundled  itself  into 
cabs,  John  managing  to  get  Anne  and  her  luggage 
to  himself.  Immediately,  he  signalled  the  driver 
to  start  off. 

Mr.  Maynard,  Paul  and  Mrs.  Stewart  got  in 
another  cab  and  Jim,  Ken,  and  Eleanor  in  another. 
That  left  Polly  and  Tom  Latimer,  with  the  re- 
maining bags,  to  get  in  the  last  taxi.  It  was  all 
done  in  such  noisy  confusion,  that  no  one  dreamed 
how  one  clever  manager  had  so  manipulated  mat- 
ters as  to  have  Polly  alone  in  the  last  cab. 

"Well,  Polly,  I  hear  you  are  soaring  in  your 


MR.  FABIAN  203 

ambition.  Mr.  Fabian  wrote  me  how  interested 
he  was  in  Nolla  and  you." 

"Oh,  did  the  dear  man  write  you?  I  didn't 
know  he  and  you  corresponded." 

"I  took  a  great  fancy  to  the  idealist,  and  having 
always  loved  art  for  itself,  I  told  him  I  would 
consider  it  a  great  pleasure  if  he  would  exchange 
letters  with  me  when  he  had  the  opportunity.  He 
has  done  better  for  me  than  I  had  any  right  to 
expect.  He  writes  the  most  interesting  letters — 
just  as  clever  as  his  talks  on  art." 

Having  found  a  willing  listener  in  Tom,  Polly 
expanded  on  her  private  opinion  of  such  a  won- 
derful teacher  as  Mr.  Fabian  was,  and  before  the 
taxi  drew  up  in  front  of  the  Maynard's  brown- 
stone  mansion,  Tom  had  the  comforting  assur- 
ance that  Polly  had  quite  forgotten  her  brother 
John's  unintentional  neglect. 

Jim  and  Ken  enjoyed  their  hasty  visit  and  then 
took  their  departure  to  catch  their  train  going 
west.  When  Mrs.  Maynard  and  Barbara  dis- 
pensed tea,  the  three  young  men,  John,  Tom  and 
Paul,  had  to  enter  into  service  for  the  hostess;  but 
they  would  greatly  have  preferred  to  enjoy  their 
time  as  each  inclined — John  alone  with  Anne  in 
the  conservatory,  Tom  and  Polly  talking  art,  and 
Paul  making  merry  with  Eleanor. 


204  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Barbara,  who  a  year  ago  would  have  resented 
oblivion  for  herself,  now  smiled  contentedly  and 
gazed  upon  a  huge  solitaire. 

"Bob,  shall  we  announce  it?"  whispered  her 
mother. 

"No,  they  do  not  know  Percival,  and,  more- 
over, not  one  of  these  people  appreciate  his  social 
standing." 

So  the  young  people  now  gathered  about  Mrs. 
Maynard's  tea-table  were  deprived  (so  Bob 
thought)  of  the  greatest  event  of  the  past  social 
season — her  engagement  to  one  of  the  most  aristo- 
cratic and  wealthiest  eligibles  on  the  market,  Per- 
cival Weston. 

Barbara  twirled  her  solitaire  smilingly,  nor 
cared  that  her  Percival  was  bald  and  diminutive, 
past  the  prime  in  life,  and  not  over-brilliant.  Had 
he  not  been  the  catch  at  Newport  the  previous 
Summer?  And  had  he  not  attached  himself  to 
her  as  soon  as  she  appeared  in  the  Adirondack 
Camp  presided  over  by  the  famous  society  leader 
of  New  York? 


CHAPTER  XIII 

BACK  AGAIN  AT  PEBBLY  PIT 

"On,  Nolla !  Isn't  this  great  after  old  New 
York?"  cried  Polly,  as  they  were  all  jostled  in  the 
big  ranch-wagon  driven  by  Mr.  Brewster,  as  it 
rumbled  over  the  trail  to  Pebbly  Pit. 

"We-all  think  it's  great,  Poll;  but  wait  till  you 
see  what  your  going  to  New  York  did  to  the  old 
Pit!  No  one  to  blame  for  it  but  yourself," 
laughed  her  father. 

"We  heard  there  was  a  row  of  buildings  down 
behind  the  Imps,  and  that  a  fine  roadway  was  con- 
structed through  the  Devil's  Causeway,"  said 
Polly,  eagerly. 

"But  no  one  told  you  how  John  and  Tom  came 
here  as  soon  as  college  closed,  and  brought  a  rail- 
road man  with  them  to  see  about  building  a  spur 
from  Bear  Forks  to  the  valley  at  the  foot  of 
Grizzly  Slide.  It's  twenty  miles  nearer  Denver 
than  Oak  Creek,  so  the  company  agreed  to  risk 
the  work  if  Pebbly  Pit  would  guarantee  a  certain 
amount  of  travel  and  freight  over  the  road." 

205 


206  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Well^-did  you,  Daddy?"  asked  Polly,  eagerly. 

"Tom  Latimer  did.  Agreed  to  put  up  bonds 
for  same." 

"Tom?    Why  Tom  Latimer?"  asked  Eleanor. 

"Oh,  Tom  is  mighty  ambitious,  you  know,  and 
seems  as  if  he  liked  this  section  better  than  the 
East.  However,  it  is  Tom  we-all  can  thank  for 
that  new  railroad.  When  you-all  come  home  next 
year,  you-all  will  be  riding  over  your  own  tracks." 
Mr.  Brewster  chuckled. 

"Is  Tom  going  to  join  that  crew  of  engineers 
that  John  and  he  were  with  last  year?"  now  asked 
Eleanor. 

"No,  indeed !  Tom  and  John  will  be  right  here 
with  us  this  summer.  We-all  need  their  help  in 
working  out  the  problems  of  the  mine  and  Rain- 
bow Cliffs,"  responded  Sam  Brewster. 

"I  don't  suppose  we'll  see  a  bit  of  John  as  long 
as  Anne  and  her  mother  remain  in  Denver,  visit- 
ing their  old  friends,"  pouted  Polly,  jealously. 

Her  father  glanced  slyly  at  her,  and  smiled.  He 
felt  sorry  for  his  little  girl  who  had  always  felt 
that  her  brother  John  was  her  own  personal  prop- 
erty. Now  that  someone  claimed  first  love  and 
attention  from  him  it  was  mighty  hard  for  her,  as 
well  as  for  Mrs.  Brewster. 

"Ah  should  wonder  at  John  if  he  failed  in 


PEBBLY  PIT  207 

gallantry  to  his  sweetheart,"  was  all  Sam  Brew- 
ster  said  aloud. 

"Oh!  Everyone  makes  me  tired!  Anyone'd 
think  Anne  Stewart  was  a  saint.  She's  only  a 
girl  the  same  as  Nolla,  or  me.  And  no  one  is 
found  going  mad  over  either  one  of  us!"  cried 
Polly,  pettishly. 

Eleanor  laughed.  "Give  us  a  few  years  and 
then  see!" 

Polly  curled  her  lip  impatiently.  "A  few  years 
from  now  and  I'll  be  in  Europe  with  dear  old 
Fabian,  studying  art.  I  won't  want  attention  from 
anyone,  then." 

"Seems  to  me,"  ventured  Mr.  Brewster,  gently, 
"my  little  girl  is  hankering  for  homage  or  a  beau 
— which  is  it?" 

Polly  stared  aghast.  "Neither  one !  How  dare 
you  say  so." 

"You-all  were  speaking  of  attention." 

"But  I  was  only  thinking  of  John.  He'll  have 
Anne  for  a  wife  all  his  life  long — after  next  year. 
But  he  won't  have  me  after  I  finish  school." 

In  spite  of  the  tearful  tone,  Mr.  Brewster  had 
to  laugh.  "Don't  waste  your  time  on  John,  Polly 
girl.  Let  me  make  up  for  him  and  be  your  de- 
voted attendant.  Ah'll  always  be  at  your  beck  and 
call!" 


208  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Oh,  Dad!  That  reminds  me!"  exclaimed 
Polly,  turning  square  around  to  face  her  father, 
and  forgetting  her  recent  misery  over  John. 
"How  did  you  ever  manage  about  that  rose  val- 
entine you  sent  me?" 

Sam  Brewster  let  the  reins  dangle  recklessly  as 
he,  in  turn,  stared  at  his  daughter.  "What  valen- 
tine?" 

Polly  winked  roguishly  and  laughed.  "You 
can't  pull  the  wool  over  my  eyes,  Daddy.  I've 
spent  a  whole  year  in  New  York  to  some  ad- 
vantage, you  see.  I  have  seen  lots  of  such  feigned 
innocence  as  yours." 

"But  honest,  Poll,  Ah  don't  even  know  what 
you-all  are  talking  about;  Ah  got  your  sweet  val- 
entine, and  so  did  maw." 

Polly  frowned  at  her  father.  "Didn't  you 
wire  to  a  florist  in  New  York  and  order  a  dozen 
great  roses  for  my  valentine?  And  tie  the  two 
hearts  pierced  by  a  golden  arrow,  about  the  cen- 
ter of  the  flower-stems?" 

"Positively,  this  is  the  first  word  Ah've  heard 
of  it!"  declared  Sam  Brewster  so  emphatically, 
that  the  girls  believed  him. 

"Now,  Polly,  the  hunt  is  narrowing  down," 
laughed  Eleanor.  "We  know  it  was  no  one  in- 


PEBBLY  PIT  209 

New  York,  and  it  wasn't  Jim  or  Ken.  Your 
father  says  he  didn't  do  it,  so  it  leaves  only  a  few 
more  to  ask." 

Suddenly  Polly  clasped  her  hands.  Her  face 
was  radiant.  "Why,  of  course!  How  could  I 
forget?  It  was  dear  old  John!  He,  too,  always 
remembered  me  on  Valentine  Day."  Then  turn- 
ing to  her  father,  and  shaking  a  finger  at  him,  she 
added :  "But  you  didn't  remember  me,  this  year, 
bad  man." 

"Tell  truth,  Polly,  there  was  so  much  to  think 
about  and  so  much  to  do,  over  the  buildings  and 
mines,  that  Ah  clean  forgot  there  ever  was  such 
a  day,  until  I  got  your  card.  Then  I  felt  sorry." 

"Well,  thank  goodness,  John  remembered!" 
sighed  Polly.  And  Eleanor  noticed  that  she 
smiled  again  in  forgiveness  of  her  brother's  short- 
comings. 

When  the  wagon  stopped  at  the  porch  of  the 
ranch-house,  Eleanor  laughed :  "Just  as  we  drove 
ap  last  year — but  oh,  how  different  this  year !" 

Mrs.  Brewster  hurried  out  to  welcome  her  dear 
girls,  and  laughed  at  Eleanor's  remark.  "Still 
making  Irish  bulls,  Nolla !" 

They  all  laughed  merrily,  and  then  Sary  rushed 
from  her  kitchen,  and  clasped  Polly  to  her  ample 


210 

bosom.  Eleanor  came  in  for  her  share  of  the 
maid's  embrace  before  she  had  to  hurry  back  to 
the  dinner. 

"Ah'se  coekin'  cabbige  soup,  Miss  Nolla,"  she 
explained. 

"Why,  Sary,  that  first  night  we  were  here  last 
summer,  you  had  'cabbidge'  soup,  too!" 

"We-all  has  to  hev  it  once  a  week  reg'ler  now, 
'cause  Jeb  loves  it,  an'  he  is  a  foreman,  you-know." 
Sary's  pride  in  her  spouse's  promotion  was  most 
evident. 

While  Polly  and  her  mother  cozily  sat  to- 
gether on  the  porch  and  smiled  happily  to  be  in 
each  other's  company,  once  more,  Eleanor  walked 
to  the  barns  with  Mr.  Brewster.  She  had  an  ob- 
ject in  view,  and  she  never  delayed  in  finding  out 
what  she  wanted  to  know,  should  the  opportunity 
come  and  offer  itself  to  her. 

"Mr.  Brewster,  do  tell  me  honestly — did  you 
send  the  roses,  or  do  you  know  who  did  send 
them  to  Polly?" 

"Nolla,  Ah  never  heard  of  them  until  today. 
Ah'm  as  curious  as  you,  to  know  who  sent  them. 
What  were  they  like,  anyway?" 

"Well,  you  must  know,  Mr.  Brewster,  that 
American  Beauty  roses  like  they  were,  cost  a 
small  fortune  in  New  York,  at  that  time  of  the 


PEBBLY  PIT  211 

year.  Each  one  of  those  roses  cost  not  less  than 
five  or  six  dollars.  And  the  trinket  that  was 
bound  to  the  stems  was  not  a  cheap  thing,  either. 
In  fact,  the  chain  was  of  fine,  gold-plated  links, 
and  the  arrows  were  gold-plated,  too.  It  was  an 
imported  curio." 

"By  the  Great  Horned  Spoon !  Roses  that  cost 
like  that !  Why,  they  wilted,  didn't  they?"  gasped 
Sam  Brewster. 

Eleanor  laughed  merrily.  "Sure  thing!  But 
we  kept  them  as  long  as  possible.  That  is  just 
where  the  joy  comes  in  of  getting  costly  roses — 
they  wilt.  And  anyone,  who  will  spend  that  much 
money  on  one,  must  think  a  heap  of  her  first — 
see?" 

Mr.  Brewster  stood  stockstill.  He  caught  at 
Eleanor's  arm.  "Ah've  got  it !" 

"What — who?"  Eleanor  was  breathless  in 
her  eagerness. 

"Find  the  silly  swain  that's  making  eyes  at  my 
Polly,  and  you've  caught  the  rascal  who  sent  the 
roses." 

Eleanor  screamed  with  laughter.  "Oh,  you're 
funny!  But  isn't  that  exactly  what  everyone's 
been  doing?" 

"Oh— have  they?" 

"Sure !    I  learned  that  Mr.  Fabian  tried  to  find 


212  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

out  who  the  fellow  was.  And  then  Mr.  Dalken 
wanted  to  know.  The  Latimers  and  Evans  put 
Jim  and  Ken  through  the  third  degree,  but  no  one 
confessed  to  it.  Now  do  you  believe  John  sent 
them?" 

"I  do  not!"  was  the  positive  reply. 

"Neither  do  I !  Because  John  sent  Anne  a 
bunch  of  roses  for  her  valentine  but  they  were 
only  seven  dollars.  She  got  a  dozen,  the  usual 
short-stemmed  Bride  Roses.  He  wouldn't  dare 
send  his  sister  such  gorgeous  ones  and  only  give 
his  fiancee  cheaper  ones." 

Sam  Brewster  smiled  at  his  companion.  "Nolla, 
you're  a  wise  little  owl." 

"Anyone  would  be,  after  having  had  the  social 
training  that  was  fed  to  me  from  the  bottle  up !" 

Mr.  Brewster  laughed  at  this,  and  Eleanor  then 
said :  "Guess  I'll  be  going  back,  now,  Mr.  Brew- 
ster. I  wanted  to  know  your  opinion  about  John 
and  the  roses." 

"Wait,  Nolla.  Have  you  any  answer  to  it  your- 
self?" 

"U — m,  yes — I  have  a  sort  of  a  suspicion.  But 
it  isn't  fair  to  anyone  to  even  hint  at  it.  So  don't 
ask  me." 

"This  much  you  might  answer,  however,  seeing 
that  Ah'm  Polly's  father  and  the  most  concerned 


PEBBLY  PIT  213 

in  the  beaux  she  has.  Do  you  fancy  it  might  have 
been  your  brother  Pete?" 

"Pete!"  The  very  tone  made  Mr.  Brewster 
smile  as  he  saw  that  Eleanor  had  never  thought 
of  him.  "Anyway,  Pete  and  Poll  hardly  know 
each  other." 

uAh  wonder  if  it  could  have  been  Paul  Stewart 
— he  seemed  dreadfully  attentive  to  her  that  time 
when  we-all  were  visiting  you-all  in  New  York." 
Mr.  Brewster  watched  Eleanor  shrewdly. 

"I  just  guess  it  wasn't  Paul!  He  sent  me  a 
lovely  card  for  a  valentine;  and  while  we  were 
home  in  Chicago,  I  asked  him  about  flowers.  He 
never  thought  to  wire  a  florist  about  sending  me 
any  flowers,  he  said.  So  I  know  Paul  hadn't  any- 
thing to  do  with  it." 

"Ah !  Well,  Nolla,  now  we  know  who  he  was, 
eh?"  laughed  Sam  Brewster,  tweaking  Eleanor's 
ear  and  hastening  away  to  the  barns. 

Eleanor  stood  watching  him.  Then  she  laughed 
softly:  "He  sure  did  put  one  over  on  me,  that 
time!" 

As  she  walked  slowly  back  to  the  ranch-house 
she  soliloquized  to  herself.  "That's  just  who  it 
was.  Gee !  It's  almost  as  fine  as  having  a  romance 
of  my  very  own.  But  Polly  doesn't  want  it  so. 

"All  the  same,  when  John  and  Tom  come  down 


2i4  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

here,  I'm  going  to  tease  Tom  about  the  wonderful 
roses  Polly's  brother  sent  her.  Then  we'll  see 
what  we'll  see!" 

Eleanor  could  keep  her  own  counsel  as  well  as 
Sam  Brewster,  but  the  two  exchanged  wise  looks, 
now  and  then,  when  no  one  was  watching.  Still, 
never  a  word  was  said  again  on  the  rose  subject. 

A  week  after  the  two  girls  got  home,  the  others 
in  the  party  came  down  from  Denver.  Mrs. 
Stewart  was  to  be  Mrs.  Brewster's  guest  that  Sum- 
mer, Eleanor  was  Polly's,  and  Anne  said  she  was 
John's  visitor.  Then  Tom  Latimer  laughed  and 
said :  "I'll  have  to  be  Mr.  Brewster's  pal." 

"I  can  promise  you  that  you  won't  have  your 
head  turned  by  any  pretty  school-girl,  Tom,  if  you 
are  my  guest,"  chuckled  Sam  Brewster. 

Eleanor  tittered,  Tom  flushed,  but  the  others 
laughed  at  such  a  speech. 

Plans  had  been  made  to  take  a  three-day  trip 
up  over  Top  Notch  Trail,  and  inspect  the  prog- 
ress on  the  mine,  but  Mrs.  Brewster  and  her  guest 
would  remain  at  home,  by  preference. 

The  merry  cavalcade  started  out,  Polly  on  her 
beloved  Noddy  as  usual,  and  Eleanor  on  Choko. 
The  others  rode  their  horses,  and  Jeb  led  an  extra 
horse  with  the  packs. 

There  was  no  planned  order  in  riding;  first  one 


PEBBLY  PIT  215 

girl  would  have  one  of  the  escort,  and  then  an- 
other  would  ride  up  and  "cut  in"  to  urge  the  other 
onward.  Thus  everyone  was  laughing  and  teas- 
ing and  talking  merrily  until  they  reached  the  falls 
on  top  of  the  mountains.  Here,  where  Polly  had 
caught  the  trout,  the  year  before,  they  all  had 
dinner. 

"My  goodness!  Folks  in  New  York  never 
know  what  they  miss  by  never  coming  to  the 
Rockies,"  declared  Polly,  her  eyes  wandering  to 
the  far-off  line  of  mountain-ranges. 

"And  folks  who  live  near  these  mountains  are 
never  happy  until  they  get  to  New  York,"  re- 
marked Mr.  Brewster. 

Polly  laughed.  "Oh,  'that  is  when  one  needs 
education.  I  have  always  had  too  much  mountain 
and  not  enough  of  other  good  things.  But  now 
that  I  am  tasting  a  little  of  everything,  I  like  my 
mountains  as  well  as  anything  I've  seen." 

"D'ye  think  you-all  will  stay  at  home  after 
this?"  eagerly  asked  her  father. 

"Double  no  1"  affirmed  Polly,  emphatically. 

Everyone  laughed  at  the  expressive  slang,  and 
Polly  added:  "At  least,  not  until  I  have  seen 
Europe,  year  after  next,  and  tried  a  hand  in  my 
profession.  Maybe — if  I  fall  in  love,  some  day — 
I'll  come  back  to  Pebbly  Pit  to  raise  my  family." 


216  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

John  Brewster  thought  this  so  funny  that  he 
ha-ha-haed  loudly,  but  the  others  smiled  doubt- 
fully. Eleanor  could  not  help  sending  a  swift 
look  at  Tom  Latimer  to  see  how  he  received  the 
information.  But  Tom  was  scrambling  to  his 
feet,  so  his  face  could  not  be  observed.  Eleanor 
glanced  away  from  him  to  Sam  Brewster,  and  saw 
the  latter  with  a  twinkle  cornering  his  eyes  as  he 
noticed  Tom's  awkward  movement. 

"U — m!"  muttered  Eleanor.  "I've  got  your 
number,  Tom  Latimer!"  But  no  one  overheard 
her  whispered  thought. 

As  the  riders  proceeded  on  their  way,  Paul 
Stewart  said :  "I  don't  see  why  you  folks  should 
think  this  such  a  tough  trail.  I  consider  it  rather 
broad  and  good." 

"Humph !  It's  a  highway  these  days,  what  with 
all  the  riding  up  and  down.  But  last  year  you 
wouldn't  have  been  able  to  see  any  thing  but  trees 
and  rocks,"  Polly  returned. 

It  was  as  Polly  said :  almost  as  clear  a  trail  as 
any  woodland  road.  At  Four-Mile-Blaze  where 
the  girls  were  well-nigh  lost  on  their  first  ride  over 
the  trail,  there  now  was  a  good  but  narrow  bridle- 
path. Thence  it  was  easy  going  up  the  steep  side 
to  Grizzly  Slide. 

"W-ell!     See  the  crowd  of  men  working  up 


PEBBLY  PIT  217 

there?  And  hear  the  sound  of  tools  and  ma- 
chinery!"  exclaimed  Polly,  as  she  rode  out  of  the 
screening  forest,  and  came  to  a  man-made  clearing. 

"Of  all  things !  Trees  chopped  down  and  turned 
into  huts;  an  army  of  workmen  living  here  as  if 
they  belonged,"  added  Eleanor. 

"We  are  blasting  and  clearing  away  the  rubble 
that  hides  your  mine.  We  had  both  ends  working 
a  few  weeks  ago,  but  now  we  are  trying  to  drop  a 
shaft  from  the  top,"  said  Mr.  Brewster. 

The  visitors  camped  at  the  miners'  settlement, 
that  night,  and  the  next  day  the  girls  were  taken 
about  to  see  the  great  progress  made  according  to 
the  plans  to  mine  the  ore. 

A  cable-road  was  being  built  from  Choko's 
Cave  down  the  steep  mountain-side,  to  the  valley, 
and  this  was  to  be  used  to  carry  the  ore-cars  up 
and  down.  As  the  girls  stood  on  top  of  the  ledge 
that  overhung  the  cave,  they  could  look  straight 
down  the  awesome  mountain-side,  where  the  for- 
est had  been  cleared  for  the  cable-line. 

"It  looks  as  if  it  all  cost  a  heap  of  money,"  said 
Polly. 

She  had  been  so  engaged  in  looking  at  the 
change  wrought  in  her  beloved  mountain,  that 
she  failed  to  see  that  the  others  had  wandered 
away.  But  someone  stood  behind  her.  She  felt 


2i 8  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

it.  As  no  reply  came  to  her  statement,  she  turned 
and  found  Tom  Latimer  waiting  for  her. 

"Oh,  where  are  the  others?" 

"Gone  over  to  the  other  side  where  the  under- 
ground river  comes  out,  you  know." 

"I  was  saying,  Tom,  that  this  must  have  taken 
a  lot  of  money." 

"More  than  we  figured  on,  but  once  we  begin 
to  get  out  the  ore,  it  will  roll  back  four-fold." 

Polly  was  impressed,  but  still  wondered 
"Where  did  all  the  money  come  from,  Tom?" 

"Stocks.  We  wanted  to  keep  most  of  the  Capi- 
tal for  you  and  the  first  owners,  you  know;  but 
investors  wouldn't  put  up  so  much  money  without 
a  vote.  So  we  had  to  sell  out  some  of  the  voting 
shares.  That's  where  Mr.  Dalken  came  in — he 
bought  a  big  block  of  your  stock,  and  it  is  his 
money  that's  doing  this." 

"I  think  he  is  the  nicest  man !  I  used  to  think 
he  sent  me  a  wonderful  bunch  of  American  Beauty 
roses  for  a  valentine,  but  I  only  learned  the  other 
day  that  it  was  John !  Wasn't  it  funny  ?" 

Tom  laughed  with  Polly,  and  said:  "What 
made  you  think  Mr.  Dalken  sent  them?" 

"Oh,  something  happened  once  to  Nolla  and 
me,  in  New  York  that  nobody  knows — so  don't 


PEBBLY  PIT 

you  go  and  tell  on  us,  Tom!"  Polly  waited 
anxiously  to  get  Tom's  promise,  then  she  pro- 
ceeded. 

"And  Mr.  Dalken  happened  along  in  time  to 
save  us  from  the  beasts.  After  that  he  made  us 
use  his  small  automobile  when  we  went  to  night- 
school.  We  were  awfully  grateful  to  him  for  it. 

"Then  when  Valentine  Day  came  along,  I  sug- 
gested to  Nolla  that  we  send  him  a  lovely  card 
telling  him  how  good  he  was  to  us.  I  sent  it,  and 
late  that  night  the  roses  came.  I  felt  sure,  all  the 
time,  that  he  sent  them;  I  thought  he  had  forgot- 
ten it  was  Valentine  Day  until  after  my  card 
reached  him.  I  always  wondered  why  he  didn't 
put  Nolla's  name  on  the  card,  too,  as  well  as  mine. 
But  now  I  know  he  never  sent  them." 

"Does  John  know  you've  found  him  out?" 
asked  Tom. 

"No,  not  yet;  but  some  day  I'll  tease  him  about 
it." 

"Don't!  let  him  think  you  are  still  trying  to 
guess  who  sent  the  roses.  It  will  tickle  him  to 
pieces  to  believe  you  think  it  is  an  ardent  admirer 
of  yours."  Tom  laughed  merrily  with  Polly  at 
the  very  idea. 

"That's  just  what  I  will  I    And  you  and  I  will 


220  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

sometimes  pretend  you  sent  the  roses  to  me,  and 
then  we  will  watch  John's  face.  Maybe  he  will  up 
and  tell  the  truth !"  added  Polly. 

"No,  I  doubt  it.  You  see,  Polly,  John  is  a 
wonderful  actor,  and  one  never  knows  just  what 
he  thinks.  If  he  managed  to  keep  a  close  mouth 
to  me,  his  best  friend,  all  this  time,  it  must  be 
because  he  didn't  want  Anne  to  find  out  he  sent 
y@u  such  roses." 

Then  the  two  conspirators  walked  back  to  join 
the  others,  but  Polly  and  Tom  felt  that  they  had 
a  good  joke  between  them,  thereafter. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

\ 

ANOTHER  YEAR  AT  SCHOOL 

THE  summer  vacation  passed  quickly  for  Polly 
and  Eleanor,  and  September  came  in  with  won- 
derful Autumn  weather,  when  riding  and  moun- 
tain-climbing were  just  the  thing.  However,  all 
such  outings  ended  to  plan  for  the  return  to  New- 
York. 

A  letter  had  arrived  from  Mr.  Fabian,  in  which 
he  spoke  of  his  delightful  visit  with  his  wife  and 
daughter.  They  had  gone  to  various  places  in 
Europe  and  England,  inspecting  and  studying  all 
the  famous  old  works  of  art,  and  the  ancient 
buildings  that  made  fitting  caskets  for  these  rare 
curios. 

"When  I  read  this  letter,  of  all  Mr.  Fabian  has 
ione  with  his  Summer,  I  feel  guilty,"  said  Polly 
to  her  friend,  Nolla. 

"Why  should  you?  We  had  to  rest  and  drop 
all  idea  of  study  so's  to  be  fresh  for  this  year's 
work.  Didn't  we  do  it?" 

"Yes,  we  rested,  all  right,  Nolla;  but  it  seems, 

221 


222  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

we  might  have  done  some  of  the  work  we  planned 
to  do,  before  we  left  New  York.  There  is  that 
chest  with  our  colors,  paper  and  other  things — we 
never  as  much  as  unlocked  it." 

"Polly,  I  can  paint  any  sort  of  drapery  you 
want,  and  in  any  light  or  shadow.  I  can  paint  a 
vase,  a  chair  or  a  lamp;  I  can  draw  a  hall,  or  a 
room,  or  a  window.  What  more  do  you  want? 
Why  should  we  sit  down  and  make  loads  of  these 
things  all  summer,  when  we  know  how  to  do  the 
work,  already?" 

"I  don't  know,  Nolla,  except  that  we  ought  to 
practise !" 

"Pooh !  I'm  ready  for  all  the  work  they  want 
to  pile  up  on  me,  now  and  I'm  glad  I've  been  so 
lazy  all  summer." 

"To  tell  the  truth,  Nolla,  /  am  more  than  ready 
to  work  with  all  my  heart.  I  feel  as  if  I  would 
dry  up  if  I  played  any  more,"  admitted  Polly, 
laughingly. 

With  this  desire  to  again  take  up  their  studies  in 
New  York,  the  girls  left  Pebbly  Pit  the  second 
week  in  September.  By  the  last  of  the  month, 
they  were  eagerly  planning  with  Mr.  Fabian  for 
the  new  year's  school  work  in  art  and  decoration. 

"I  have  a  pleasant  surprise  for  you,  girls,"  an- 
nounced Mr.  Fabian,  after  greetings  were  ex- 


changed.  They  all  sat  under  the  locust  tree  in 
the  little  yard  of  the  Studio. 

"  'On  with  the  dance,'  "  laughed  Eleanor. 

"As  you  know,  I  landed  in  New  York  the  first 
week  of  September,  and  found  most  of  my  friends 
still  away  in  the  country.  But  Mr.  Dalken  was  in 
evidence,  as  ever,  eager  to  offer  me  his  hospitality, 
until  I  located  for  the  Winter. 

"We  sat  in  the  medieval  library  of  his  apart- 
ment, and  I  remarked,  casually,  at  the  unusual  size 
of  his  rooms. 

"  'Yes,'  replied  he.  'That's  the  advantage  of 
leasing  one  of  the  old-fashioned  apartments  not 
so  far  up-town.  One  gets  the  benefit  of  being  near 
the  center  of  activities  in  the  city,  and  at  the  same 
time  one  can  have  the  great  rooms  once  occupied 
by  the  old  gentry  of  the  town.' 

"  'What  a  splendid  room  for  gatherings,'  I  said, 
never  dreaming  of  his  inspiration. 

"  'Seeing  that  you  are  looking  for  a  suitable 
room  in  which  to  conduct  your  little  private  class 
of  art  decorators,  why  not  use  this  library?  I 
have  all  kinds  of  reference  books  in  the  cases  and 
I  am  so  seldom  at  home  in  the  early  part  of  the 
evening  that  you  will  be  undisturbed.' 

"I  was  astonished,  as  you  may  imagine,  and  I 
said,  'But,  Mr.  Dalken,  we  couldn't  think  of  using 


224  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

this  room  and  the  apartment,  without  some  return 
for  your  kindness.' 

"He  laughed.  'What  do  I  want  of  rent  or  its 
equivalent?  I  am  only  too  glad  to  do  you  and 
those  charming  students  of  yours  a  good  turn. 
You  see,  I  still  owe  Polly  and  Eleanor  a  great  bal- 
ance which  can  never  be  paid.  Were  it  not  for 
those  two  girls  I  would  not  have  a  child — even 
though  I  seldom  see  my  little  one.' 

"I  felt  that  he  was  so  earnest  about  the  offer 
that  I  said  we  would  talk  it  over  with  Mr.  Ashby 
and  let  him  judge.  Not  that  I  did  not  see  the  ad- 
vantage of  using  the  rooms,  but  I  wanted  an  im- 
partial friend  of  Mr.  Dalken's  to  decide  whether 
or  no  he  might  regret  the  generous  offer,  later; 
and  then  not  care  to  tell  us  that  we  bothered  him 
with  our  regular  classes  three  nights  a  week. 

"So  we  visited  the  Ashbys  the  following  even- 
ing, and  to  my  amazement,  Mr.  Ashby  was  enthu- 
siastic over  the  plan.  He  said:  'Now  you've 
started  out  right,  Dalk,  and  to  prove  how  much  I 
think  of  your  offer,  I  am  going  to  have  Ruth  join 
the  class  this  year — if  Mr.  Fabian  will  take  her. 
It  might  be  rather  nice  to  have  Elizabeth  join  the 
class,  also,  even  though  she  may  not  show  any 
talent  for  the  work.' 

"  'Now,  Ashby,  you  must  pardon  me  if  I  speak 


ANOTHER  YEAR  AT  SCHOOL     225 

frankly,'  Mr.  Dalken  then  said.  'One  of  the  main 
reasons  for  Mr.  Fabian's  resignation  from 
Cooper,  and  giving  all  his  valuable  time  to  a  small 
class,  is  to  urge  those  talented  ones  forward.  If 
my  little  girl,  who  detests  application  to  study  of 
any  sort,  were  to  join  this  class,  the  basic  idea 
would  be  ruined.  The  class  would  be  held  back 
by  one  delinquent.  But  I  appreciate  your  motive 
in  suggesting  a  way  that  I  might  enjoy  the  com- 
panionship of  Elizabeth  so  often,  without  the 
tyranny  and  incompatibility  of  her  mother's 
temper.' 

"Mr.  Ashby  colored,  as  he  thought  he  had  been 
diplomatic  in  his  hint,"  concluded  Mr.  Fabian. 
"So  now  it  is  settled  that  Ruth  Ashby  joins  our 
art  class,  this  year,  and  we  will  meet  at  Mr.  Dai- 
ken's  rooms  for  our  work.  That  is  nice  for  you 
girls,  as  it  is  only  a  short  walk  of  a  few  blocks 
from  the  Studio." 

"Nice  for  us — why,  it  is  just  scrumptious!"  ex- 
claimed Eleanor. 

"And  such  a  wonderful  environment  as  that 
library,  will  give  us  inspiration,  too,"  added  Polly. 
"I  never  did  see  such  a  kind  man  as  Mr.  Dalken! 
If  I  had  my  way  to  accomplish  it,  I'd  shower  all 
the  joys  and  successes  in  heaven  or  earth  upon  his 
generous  heart." 


226  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"He  is  great  and  good,  and  it  seems  as  if  jus- 
tice must  be  sleeping,  when  such  a  man  must 
suffer  alone  because  of  a  silly  moth  of  a  wife.  If 
he  would  only  hearken  to  his  friends  and  seek 
freedom  from  such  galling  bonds !  but  he  doesn't 
think  divorce  ever  righted  a  wrong,  and  he  still 
hopes  he  can  bring  Mrs.  Dalken  to  a  sense  of  her 
family-obligations  and  gratitude,  for  all  she  has 
been  so  unselfishly  given.  Poor  fellow!"  Mr. 
Fabian  shook  his  head  despondently  over  their 
benefactor's  future. 

"Polly  and  I  never  knew  what  was  the  trouble 
in  the  Dalken  family,  Mr.  Fabian,  but  what  we 
have  seen  and  known  of  our  dear  friend,  I'm  sure 
that  he  was  never  to  blame  for  it,"  said  Eleanor, 
defensively. 

"I  never  care  to  gossip  or  to  repeat  a  story, 
children,  but  now  I  think  you  ought  to  know  why 
Mr.  Dalken  lives  alone  so  much  as  he  does.  If 
we  are  to  use  his  rooms,  you  must  know  what  a 
magnificent  character  he  is,  and  then  should  you 
hear  any  disagreeable  gossip  that  can  be  traced  to 
his  wife,  you  will  understand  the  situation." 

"Whatever  you  say,  Mr.  Fabian,  will  never  be 
repeated  by  either  Nolla  or  me,"  promised  Polly, 
solemnly. 

"I  know  it,  that  is  why  I  feel  I  ought  to  tell  you. 


227 

"Mr.  Dalken,  as  you  know,  is  a  descendant  of 
one  of  the  oldest  Dutch  Settlers  in  America.  His 
family,  from  olden  times  down  to  the  present  day, 
were  patriotic  and  loyal  Americans.  He  is  as 
staunch  an  American  as  you  will  find,  anywhere. 

"Mrs.  Dalken  was  a  poor  girl,  and  not  over- 
brilliaat.  But  Mr.  Dalken  admired  her  prettiness 
when  she  was  a  young  miss,  and  when  he  was  but 
a  slip  of  a  youth.  They  went  to  entertainments 
together  in  the  small  town  where  they  both  lived, 
and  enjoyed  each  other's  company  for  two  or  three 
years. 

"Then  the  young  man  went  to  college  and  saw 
the  world.  He  realized  how  superficial  Amy 
Lathrop  was,  and  as  time  went  by,  he  would  have 
forgotten  her  completely,  had  she  not  kept  up  her 
side  of  the  correspondence.  And  gradually  a  sug- 
gestive note  crept  into  her  letters. 

"When  his  college  days  were  over,  young  Dal- 
ken returned  to  his  birth-place  to  settle  the  country 
estate  that  was  his.  Then  he  met  Amy  again,  and 
she  found  him  so  chivalrous  that  it  was  an  easy 
matter  to  give  him  to  understand  that  she  had 
waited  for  him  these  five  years — that  she  had  been 
the  soul  of  faithfulness. 

"Without  consulting  his  friends,  or  mentioning 
the  matter  to  others  in  the  town,  he  became  en- 


228  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

gaged  to  her  on  the  claim  from  her,  that  it  had  so 
been  understood  before  he  went  to  college. 

"Well,  they  were  married,  one  day,  and  then, 
our  poor  friend's  martyrdom  began.  Amy  Dai- 
ken  was  of  no  use  in  anything  or  in  any  way.  True, 
she  had  two  children,  but  it  may  have  been  much 
better  had  she  never  become  a  mother.  She  had 
no  affection  for  them  or  the  father,  and  only 
thought  of  spending  money  and  enjoying  herself 
to  the  utmost. 

"Dalken  was  wealthy  before  he  married  Amy, 
and  his  alert  mind  coupled  with  his  unusual  fore- 
sightedness  in  finance  soon  rolled  up  fortunes  for 
him.  His  wife  spent  money  like  water,  and  was 
sought  after  by  the  vultures  of  society — those  who 
fawn  and  fondle  as  long  as  they  can  get  something 
out  of  the  victim. 

"Mrs.  Dalken's  balls  and  bridge-parties  were 
famous — I  might  say,  notorious — for  at  the  for- 
mer the  extravagance  was  a  matter  of  newspaper 
comment,  and  at  the  latter,  the  stakes  were  so  high 
that  others  lifted  their  eyebrows  at  the  losses  and 
gains. 

"Little  Billie  Dalken  was  eighteen  months  old, 
and  the  joy  of  our  good  friend's  life,  when  a 
dreadful  thing  happened.  Billie  was  a  chubby, 
handsome  little  chap  exactly  like  his  father — the 


ANOTHER  YEAR  AT  SCHOOL     229 

same  intelligent  brown  eyes,  the  same  fine  fea- 
tures, and  he  was  unusually  clever  and  large  for 
his  age. 

"Mr.  Dalken  had  been  called  to  Washington 
on  business  one  day,  and  that  same  day  his  wife 
was  about  to  give  a  grand  dinner  and  bridge,  later. 
There  were  plenty  of  servants  in  the  household, 
but  on  such  an  occasion  everyone  was  busy  with 
the  extra  work.  Billie's  own  nurse  gave  him  his 
supper  and  was  about  to  put  him  to  bed  when  she 
discovered  a  wheezing  sound  in  his  throat.  She 
feared  another  attack  of  croup.  She  was  about  to. 
apply  the  remedies  she  knew  of,  when  Mrs.  Dai- 
ken's  maid  came  to  the  nursery. 

'The  mistress  says  you  are  to  go  to  her  at 
once  and  I  am  to  sit  with  the  baby  for  a  while. 
She  wants  her  head  massaged  because  it  aches 
so!' 

"And  the  nurse  answered  as  she  thought  proper, 
'Go  and  tell  your  mistress  that  Billie  has  a  bad 
cold  and  I  must  remain  to  take  care  of  him.' 

"The  maid  tossed  her  head  and  left  the  room. 
She  hadn't  any  desire  to  remain  with  a  baby,  espe- 
(  cially  if  it  was  wheezing  and  beginning  to  cough. 
So  she  may  have  exaggerated  the  reply  somewhat. 
However,  that  did  not  excuse  Mrs.  Dalken  from 
her  next  act.  She  was  furious  and  sent  the  butler 


230  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

to  the  nursery  to  pay  off  the  nurse  and  see  that  she 
left  the  house  at  once! 

"Then  she  sent  the  parlor-maid  to  sit  in  the 
nursery  with  the  child.  That  dinner  was  a  great 
success,  but  just  before  the  card-party  began,  the 
maid  sent  down  word  that  Mrs.  Dalken  was  to 
come  up  to  the  nursery  at  once,  and  see  what  ailed 
the  baby — he  was  so  red  in  the  face  and  had  a 
fever,  she  said. 

"Mrs.  Dalken  whispered  a  reply:  Til  be  up  as 
soon  as  I  can  get  the  tables  started.'  Then  she 
never  gave  it  another  thought. 

"Three  times  during  that  evening  the  fright- 
ened parlor-maid  sent  down  for  the  mother  to 
come  up.  And  three  times  the  hostess  smiled  and 
nodded  and  then  forgot  all  about  the  call.  Before 
midnight,  the  boy  began  choking  and  gagging  and 
the  hysterical  maid  ran  back  and  forth  hoping  to 
find  the  butler,  or  someone,  who  would  help  in 
this  extremity. 

"Every  servant  in  the  house  was  busy  serving 
drinks,  cards,  or  cigarettes,  and  none  had  time  to 
call  up  a  doctor.  Then  the  daring  maid  tele- 
phoned for  a  doctor  she  knew.  But  he  lived  so 
far  up-town  that  it  took  half  an  hour  to  arrive  at 
the  house. 

"Before  he  got  there,  little  Billie  Dalken  was 


ANOTHER  YEAR  AT  SCHOOL     231 

sleeping  in  the  last  long  rest  No  one  was  with 
him  but  the  parlor-maid  when  he  strangled  to 
death;  but  the  awful  contortions  of  his  face  and 
body  showed  the  suffering  he  endured  during  the 
convulsions. 

"Mr.  Dalken  came  home  early  in  the  morning, 
the  Washington  business  having  been  successfully 
consummated  without  any  loss  of  time.  It  was 
not  yet  seven  o'clock,  but  everyone  in  the  house 
seemed  astir.  The  heavy  fumes  of  smoke  and  the 
aftermath  of  a  riotous  night's  play  were  evident 
throughout  the  first  floor  rooms.  He  smiled  sar- 
donically at  it  all,  then  rushed  upstairs  two  steps 
at  a  time  to  peep  at  his  beloved  children. 

"Elizabeth  was  weeping  fearfully  in  her  little 
crib  that  stood  in  the  room  connecting  with  the 
nursery.  The  moment  she  saw  her  father  she 
screamed  with  relief. 

"  'Oh,  Daddy!  Billie's  so  twisted  and  queer — 
and  he  won't  answer  when  I  call  him.' 

"Poor  Dalken  had  a  sudden  premonition  of 
catastrophe  and  rushed  into  the  nursery.  He  al- 
most collapsed  at  what  he  saw  there.  A  strange 
woman  was  about  to  take  up  the  stiff  little  form 
and  do  for  it  what  a  loving  mother  should  rever- 
ently insist  upon  doing. 

"The  father,  with  a  broken  heart,  took  his  be- 


232  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

loved  boy  and  prepared  him  for  his  last  resting- 
place.  All  through  the  three  days  elapsing  after 
the  night  of  Billie's  death,  Mrs.  Dalken  remained 
locked  in  her  boudoir,  her  maid  seeing  that  the 
smelling  salts  were  handy  whenever  her  lady  called 
for  them.  Between  the  visits  of  condolence  from 
her  intimates,  and  the  fittings  of  the  deep  mourn- 
ing, the  mother  was  kept  too  busy  to  meet  her 
husband,  or  watch  with  the  remains  of  her  baby. 

"But  after  the  funeral  (that  also  buried  most 
of  Dalken's  joy  in  living)  he  insisted  upon  a  seri- 
ous talk  with  his  butterfly  wife.  She  promised 
everything,  even  to  giving  up  her  gambling  games, 
if  he  would  but  refrain  from  the  publicity  of  the 
cause  of  Billie's  death  and  the  subsequent  separa- 
tion. She  used  her  sharpest  weapon  to  gain  her 
point — Elizabeth. 

"So  several  more  months  went  by,  but  the  poor 
man  was  a  mere  money-machine  in  his  own  home. 
Even  his  little  daughter  began  to  believe  that 
society  was  everything,  and  love  or  home-ties  only 
a  necessity  that  interfered  with  one's  pet  pleasures 
and  freedom. 

"Without  consulting  her  husband,  Mrs.  Dalken 
planned  to  visit  Europe  with  a  party  of  friends. 
To  keep  her  grasp  on  her  money-supplier  she  took 


ANOTHER  YEAR  AT  SCHOOL     233 

Elizabeth  with  her.  A  nurse  looked  after  the  girl. 
She  remained  abroad  for  more  than  a  year,  and 
when  she  returned  she  went  directly  to  a  fashion- 
able hotel  instead  of  seeing  that  her  home  was  re- 
opened in  New  York. 

"She  had  ordered  everything  swathed  and 
packed  for  the  time  she  was  abroad,  and  had  left 
but  two  rooms  livable  for  the  owner  and  master 
of  the  magnificent  dwelling. 

"Dalken  lived  there  in  gloomy  sorrow  for  a  few 
months  and  finally  his  friends  insisted  upon  his 
going  to  the  Club  where  he  could  meet  cheerful 
companions  and  stop  brooding  over  his  irreparable 
loss. 

"Mrs.  Dalken  was  in  no  hurry  to  reopen  her 
home,  and  all  that  Winter  she  remained  at  the 
hotel,  while  her  husband  stopped  at  his  club.  She 
allowed  him  to  call  upon  her  two  or  three  times 
a  week,  when  others  were  present,  and  she  not 
only  accepted  all  the  checks  he  offered  her,  but 
ran  up  fearful  debts  everywhere.  He  was  per- 
mitted to  take  Elizabeth  out  at  certain  times,  but 
Mrs.  Dalken  was  clever  enough  to  keep  hold  on 
the  girl,  as  she  knew  it  was  her  only  hope  of  keep- 
ing her  clutch  on  her  provider. 

"Just  after  the  Holidays,  that  season,  she  went 


234  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

to  Palm  Beach,  but  she  entered  Elizabeth  in  a 
boarding  school  out  of  the  city.  Dalken  tried, 
in  many  ways,  to  learn  where  his  child  was,  but 
he  had  no  success  in  his  search. 

"Then  he  wired  his  wife  that  she  must  turn 
over  the  girl  to  him  while  she  was  running  around, 
or  he  would  instantly  stop  her  income  and  sue  her 
for  desertion.  Then  she  came  back  to  New  York 
and  took  Elizabeth  out  of  school  again,  but  mat- 
ters got  worse  and  worse  for  poor  Dalken. 
Finally  his  dear  friends,  who  loved  him  for  what 
he  was  and  is,  persuaded  him  to  sue  for  a  legal 
separation.  They  hoped  Mrs.  Dalken  would  turn 
over  the  girl  whom  she  had  no  natural  love  for,  to 
the  father,  as  a  hostage. 

"But  she  was  a  wise  woman,  by  this  time.  She 
accepted  the  separation  without  demur,  but  re- 
fused to  give  up  Elizabeth.  It  was  then  agreed 
that  the  girl  might  choose  which  one  of  the  parents 
she  preferred  to  live  with.  Having  had  so  many 
years  of  life  with  her  mother,  the  girl  became  like 
her — selfish,  vain,  and  arrogant.  No  love  or 
gratitude  was  found  in  her  character. 

"Just  at  this  time,  Mr.  Dalken  was  taken  very 
ill,  and  his  mother  (who  is  a  dear,  you  will  find, 
when  you  meet  her)  came  from  England  to  nurse 
him.  He  was  ill  for  more  than  a  year,  so  Eliza- 


ANOTHER  YEAR  AT  SCHOOL     235 

beth  chose  to  remain  with  her  mother  for  the  time 
being. 

"Mrs.  Dalken,  Senior,  took  her  only  child  back 
to  England  with  her,  as  soon  as  he  could  travel, 
and  there  she  kept  him  well-nursed  and  cared  for, 
in  her  cousin's  English  country-house,  until  he  had 
regained  his  strength  and  fairly  good  health. 
Then  mother  and  son  went  to  the  Continent  to 
visit  the  scenes  of  the  famous  battle-fields,  and 
then  on  to  the  Riviera  for  a  month. 

"The  wise  mother  knew  that  taking  Mr.  Dai- 
ken's  thoughts  from  his  own  miserable  state,  and 
making  him  think  of  other's  woes,  would  the 
sooner  brace  him  up  to  face  his  life-problem.  And 
so  it  was. 

"Elizabeth  elected  to  remain  with  her  frivolous 
mother  but  Mr.  Dalken  supports  her  handsomely, 
and  often  bribes  her  to  spend  an  afternoon  or 
evening  with  him,  by  having  a  valuable  gift  await- 
ing her  coming.  Mr.  Ashby,  and  other  friends, 
have  advised  Dalken  against  this  pernicious  way 
of  baiting  the  inclinations  of  the  girl,  but  he  says 
they  do  not  know  his  heart-hunger,  and  so  cannot 
judge  his  actions." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Fabian!  Our  poor,  dear  Mr.  Dal- 
ken !"  sobbed  Polly,  when  the  speaker  had  ended 
his  story. 


236  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"If  I  ever  meet  that  horrid  woman  I  shall  tear 
her  hair  out,  I  know  I  shall!"  wept  Eleanor, 
vehemently. 

•  "If  only  we  could  do  something,  Nolla,  to  make 
up  to  our  dear  Dalk,  for  all  his  sorrow,"  sighed 
Polly,  drying  her  eyes. 

"You  can  love  him  the  more  for  this  story, 
girls,  but  do  not  refer  to  it,  as  he  is  still  tender 
over  his  loss." 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE    FOUNDLING 

THE  sad  story  told  the  girls,  about  their  friend 
Mr.  Dalken,  filled  them  with  love  and  compas- 
sion for  the  great-hearted  man,  and  they  won- 
dered how  they  could  do  something  for  him  that 
would  not  only  show  their  appreciation  of  his 
kindness  to  them,  but  at  the  same  time  give  him 
pleasure  or  happiness.  But  there  seemed  no  ma- 
terial thing  that  he  needed,  and  really,  nothing 
that  one  could  do  for  him. 

"There  must  be  times  when  he  sits  alone  brood- 
ing over  his  boy  and  how  different  things  might 
have  been  had  he  married  a  different  type  of 
woman,"  remarked  Eleanor,  one  evening,  after 
leaving  their  new  class-room. 

"Yes;  but  it  seems  to  me  he  should  have  been 
able  to  see  through  such  a  shallow  thing  as  that 
woman  must  have  been,  when  he  returned  from 
college  and  found  her  apparently  waiting  for 
him,"  Polly  replied. 

237 


23  8  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"But  he's  so  tender-hearted,  you  see,  he  couldn't 
bear  to  give  her  any  pain  or  trouble.  That  must 
have  been  the  only  reason  why  he  allowed  her  to 
get  him." 

"I  suppose  so.  Why,  even  now,  he  is  an  easy 
prey  to  the  scheming  people  who  know  he  has 
barrels  of  money,  and  who  simply  pretend  to  be 
friendly  for  what  they  can  get  out  of  him." 

"It's  too  bad  he  can't  be  satisfied  with  just  Mr. 
Ashby  and  Mr.  Fabian  for  man  friends,  and  we 
few  women  for  his  women  friends,"  mused  Elea- 
nor. "We'd  love  him  for  himself." 

Polly  smiled.  "Wouldn't  you  and  I  give  him  a 
gay  time — with  high-school  keeping  us  employed 
every  week-day,  and  art  class  every  other  night  in 
the  week,  to  say  nothing  of  lectures,  exhibitions, 
and  other  things  that  Mr.  Fabian  has  us  do,  in 
line  with  our  work." 

The  two  girls  had  crossed  Madison  and  Fourth 
avenues  by  this  time,  and  were  slowly  walking 
down  the  street  towards  the  Studio.  It  was 
a  beautiful  Fall  night,  and  the  moon  was  almost 
full,  hence  they  were  in  no  hurry  to  reach  home 
and  go  indoors. 

"I  hear  Anne  singing — she  must  have  com- 
pany," said  Polly  as  they  neared  the  house. 

"Yes;  the  windows  are  open  in  the  living-room, 


HE  WAS  A  CHUBBY  LITTLE  FELLOW. 

Polly  in  New  York. 


Page  241 


THE  FOUNDLING  '239 

and  I  can  peep  under  the  shades  and  see  Anne  at 
the  piano,"  whispered  Eleanor. 

Just  then  the  breeze  wafted  one  of  the  shades 
back  from  the  window,  and  the  girls  recognised 
Mrs.  Evans  and  Mrs.  Latimer  as  the  guests  of 
Anne. 

"Let's  hurry  in!"  exclaimed  Eleanor,  suddenly 
turning  from  the  front  window  and  darting  into 
the  vestibule. 

The  outside  door  was  open  wide,  and  as  Elea- 
nor ran  up  the  one  step  that  raised  the  tiled  en- 
trance from  the  sidewalk,  she  stumbled  over  a 
soft  bundle  that  seemed  pushed  against  the  wall. 

By  this  time,  Polly  also  reached  the  vestibule, 
but  the  inside  door  being  closed  and  locked  for 
protection,  it  was  too  dark  in  the  vestibule  for 
either  of  the  girls  to  see  what  the  huge  bundle 
contained. 

"It  feels  like  a  bundle  of  old  clothes.  Maybe 
some  servant  hid  it  here  for  a  time — she  may  be 
going  to  come  back  for  it,"  observed  Eleanor, 
prodding  the  bundle  with  her  foot. 

But  to  the  surprise  of  both  girls,  a  little  squeal 
issued  from  the  roll.  In  the  semi-darkness,  they 
stood  spell-bound  and  gazed  at  each  other. 

"It's  a  baby — of  all  things  I"  cried  Polly,  hastily 
trying  the  handle  of  the  door. 


POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Ring — ring  the  bell  like  mad.  I'll  pick  it  up  I" 
Eleanor  exclaimed,  excitably. 

"Open  the  door — Anne — hurry  up!  We've 
found  a  baby!"  called  Polly,  leaning  over  the  iron 
rail  that  projected  over  the  area  door,  in  front 
of  the  windows. 

Both  girls  forgot  that  they  had  latch  keys,  but 
Mrs.  Evans  sat  nearest  the  window  where  Polly 
stood,  and  quickly  answered  her  call.  Eleanor, 
meanwhile,  had  carefully  picked  up  the  rolled-up 
baby  and,  the  moment  the  door  was  flung  open, 
carried  it  indoors. 

"Where  did  you  find  it?"  exclaimed  four 
amazed  women. 

"Right  at  our  door — in  the  vestibule,"  said 
Eleanor,  placing  her  bundle  on  the  divan  and  pro- 
ceeding to  open  it. 

"Wasn't  anyone  in  sight?"  asked  Mrs.  Latimer, 
cautiously. 

"Not  that  we  noticed;  but,  of  course,  we  never 
thought  to  look,  when  we  found  what  was  in  the 
bundle,"  explained  Polly,  nervously  eager  to  assist 
Eleanor  in  what  she  was  doing. 

Before  the  swaddling  blankets  were  released 
from  the  baby,  it  began  to  utter  baby-talk.  The 
females,  grouped  closely  in  front  of  the  divan, 
smiled  appreciatively. 


THE  FOUNDLING  24r 

Finally  the  last  wrapper,  which  was  of  mosquito 
netting,  came  off,  and  there  lay  a  chubby  little  fel- 
low of  about  fifteen  months.  He  had  a  fist  in  his 
mouth,  and  with  the  other  dimpled  hand  he 
clutched  at  Polly's  hair  as  she  leaned  over  him. 

"Oh!  Isn't  he  a  darling!  He  must  belong  to 
a  neighbor!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Stewart. 

"He  certainly  is  not  starved  or  poorly  cared 
for,"  added  Mrs.  Evans,  with  experienced  voice. 

"But  he  only  has  on  his  nightie !  Not  another 
stitch  to  be  found,"  said  Anne,  carefully  rolling 
the  baby  over  to  see  if  he  had  any  clothes  under 
him. 

"There's  a  note — pinned  on  the  blanket!"  cried 
Polly,  anxiously  removing  the  pin  and  taking  the 
paper  over  to  the  light. 

"It  says — just  one  word — 'Billy.'  Did  you 
ever!"  exclaimed  Polly,  glancing  from  one  to  the 
other  of  the  friends  who  were  waiting  expectantly 
to  hear  about  the  boy. 

"Let's  see!"  demanded  Eleanor,  frowning  at 
such  a  short  explanation. 

Polly  handed  the  slip  of  paper  to  her  friend  and 
joined  Anne  at  the  divan  where  she  was  divesting 
the  boy  of  his  nightie  to  see  if  further  clues  might 
be  found.  About  his  fat  neck  was  a  very  fine  gold 
chain,  and  suspended  from  that  was  a  tiny  flat 


242  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

heart-shaped  locket.  It  did  not  open,  but  on  the 
plain  gold  face  was  a  monogram  of  three  letters : 
B_  D—  W— . 

"Now  we've  got  something  to  work  on!  'B' 
stands  for  Billy,  of  course,  but  what  can  'D'  and 
'W  mean?"  Eleanor  said  excitedly. 

"No  child  is  christened  'Billy,'  "  Anne  contra- 
dicted. "He  would  be  'William' — and  that  is 
what  the  *W  is  for.  Children  are  nicknamed 
'Billy'  or  'Willy'  later.  Now  his  middle  and  last 
name  must  begin  with  the  'B'  and  'D' — or  vice 
versa." 

"Shake  out  the  blankets  carefully — perhaps 
another  paper  is  pinned  to  one  of  them,"  said 
Polly,  eagerly. 

But  there  was  no  other  message  in  the  blankets. 

"Let's  take  off  his  flannel  shirt !  There  may  be 
something  there,"  ventured  Mrs.  Stewart. 

In  less  than  a  minute,  the  pins  were  out  and  the 
woven  shirt  of  Merino  was  removed,  but  no  fur- 
ther information  rewarded  the  anxious  seekers. 
So  the  shirt  was  carefully  replaced  and  the  boy's 
nightie  slipped  over  his  head  again. 

"It's  all  hand-made  of  fine  linen,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Latimer,  as  she  felt  of  the  hem  at  the  bottom. 

"And  one  can  see  that  he  is  no  slum  child," 
added  Mrs.  Evans. 


THE  FOUNDLING  243 

"Who  can  he  be?  and  why  should  anyone  want 
to  leave  him?"  were  the  perplexing  questions  Polly 
asked  of  the  others. 

They  all  shook  their  heads  and  wondered.  But 
the  boy  had  no  use  for  such  condolences;  he 
crawled  over  the  divan  and  when  he  found  not 
what  he  was  in  search  of,  he  screwed  up  his 
dimpled  face  and  began  a  lusty  call. 

Anne  instantly  took  him  up  and  began  to  chirp 
to  him.  He  smiled  a  cheerful  thanks  and  showed 
eight  little  front  teeth.  That  brought  all  his  new 
friends  to  his  feet — metaphorically  speaking. 

"Isn't  he  a  dear !"  declared  Mrs.  Stewart  to  no 
one  in  particular. 

"Yes,  but  we  have  to  advertise  him  at  once.  It 
may  be  that  a  villain  kidnapped  him  and  ran  away 
with  him  just  to  get  a  reward.  He  may  have  been 
seen,  or  chased  by  the  police,  and  then  dropped 
the  baby  in  our  vestibule,"  said  Mrs.  Latimer. 

Anne  laughed.  "Which  analysis  shows  that  one 
of  us  married  a  lawyer — Mrs.  Latimer  gives  us 
good  advice." 

"Or  he  may  belong  to  a  young  mother  who  can- 
not longer  earn  a  living  for  him,"  added  Mrs. 
Stewart. 

"That's  not  likely,  mother,"  returned  Anne. 
"As  the  child  would  look  thin  and  sickly  if  a 


244  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

mother  found  it  hard  to  support  it.  I  rather  think 
it  is  a  babe  that  belongs  to  some  distracted  mother 
in  the  neighborhood.  He  has  evidently  been  put 
to  bed  for  the  night.  Possibly  a  vindictive  nurse- 
girl  took  him  from  his  home  to  make  his  parents 
seek  for  him  and  then  left  him  at  the  most  con- 
venient door." 

"Anne's  reason  sounds  the  most  plausible,  and 
we'd  better  'phone  the  police-stations  at  once. 
Billy's  parents  may  even  now  be  wild  with  despair, 
for  we  do  not  know  how  long  he  was  in  the  vesti- 
bule. All  we  know  is,  he  was  not  there  when  we 
came  in,  about  eight  o'clock,"  said  Mrs.  Evans. 

So  she  telephoned  the  police-stations,  near  by, 
and  also  asked  the  morning  papers  to  run  a  short 
notice  under  a  suitable  caption:  Before  she  had 
finished  this  work,  however,  Master  Billy  began 
his  complaints  again,  and  now  he  was  beginning  to 
look  as  impatient  as  such  a  good-natured  baby 
could. 

"Maybe  he's  hungry?"  suddenly  suggested  Mrs. 
Stewart. 

"That's  just  what  ails  him — but  we  haven't  any 
bottle!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Evans. 

"Perhaps  he  drinks  from  a  cup — he  is  old 
enough  to  have  been  weaned,  you  know,"  ven- 
tured Mrs.  Latimer. 


THE  FOUNDLING  245 

A  cup  of  warmed  milk  was  brought  in  short 
order,  and  Mrs.  Stewart  held  it  out  to  Anne,  as 
she  was  still  holding  the  baby.  The  moment  Billy 
saw  the  cup,  he  almost  leaped  from  Anne's  arms, 
and  immediately  began  gurgling  for  very  glee. 

Everyone  laughed  at  his  antics,  and  Anne  was 
about  to  hold  the  cup  to  his  lips,  when  two  fat 
hands  clutched  at  it  in  a  hungry  endeavor  to  reach 
the  contents.  Of  course,  part  of  the  milk  spilled 
on  his  nightie  but  the  remainder  he  drank  greedily. 

"He's  well-trained — whoever  he  is.  I  should 
say  that  he  has  had  every  attention  in  the  past,  to 
have  him  act  like  this  at  his  age,"  said  Mrs. 
Latimer. 

"But  we  don't  know  how  old  he  is.  He  may  be 
months  older  than  we  thought  for,"  argued  Mrs. 
Evans. 

"Well,  he  isn't  more  than  eighteen  months  at 
the  most,"  declared  Mrs.  Stewart. 

Polly  and  Eleanor  stood  silently  by  listening  to 
these  experienced  mothers,  but  Anne  smiled  in- 
dulgently at  them,  and  kept  her  opinions  to  herself. 

Dr.  Evans  and  Mr.  Latimer  stopped  for  their 
wives,  and  when  they  had  heard  and  been  shown 
the  fine  boy,  they  gave  their  masculine  opinions. 

"A  baby  who  was  boarded  out,  and  the  parents 
hadn't  paid  up  recently.  So  the  woman  left  him 


246  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

on  the  first  door-step  to  get  rid  of  him,"  was  the 
doctor's  verdict. 

"There  spoke  the  doctor  who  knows  of  such 
cases,"  said  Anne. 

"That  isn't  if,  however,"  remarked  Mr.  Lati- 
mer.  "I  am  of  the  opinion  that  this  child  is  of 
wealthy  parentage.  He  likely  is  a  stumbling-block 
for  some  heirs,  who  wish  him  safely  out  of  the 
way  so  they  may  claim  the  estate." 

Anne  laughed  again.  "There  speaks  the  attor- 
ney. But  you  should  have  had  the  jealous  heirs 
remove  this  monogramed  locket  before  they  tried 
to  get  rid  of  all  evidence  of  a  barrier  to  their 
inheritance." 

"Reckon  we'd  better  stop  romancing  and  put 
Billy  to  bed,"  said  Polly,  in  a  matter-of-fact  voice. 

Her  common  sense  caused  a  general  laugh,  and 
Dr.  Evans  added:  "Well,  ladies!  Come  on,  if 
we  are  to  get  home  to-night." 

With  a  last  look  at  the  sleepy  cherub,  and  a 
good-night  to  the  friends  living  in  the  Studio,  the 
four  New  Yorkers  went  out. 

"Where  shall  he  sleep  to-night?"  asked  Anne. 

"Let  me  have  him?"  cried  Polly. 

"Oh — I  found  him  first — let  me  have  him," 
begged  Eleanor. 

"No,  girls;  babies  should  sleep  absolutely  alone. 


THE  FOUNDLING  247 

I  will  get  a  drawer  from  the  high-boy  and 
rig  him  up  a  nice  little  bed  therein.  To-morrow 
night  he  will  be  in  his  own  home,  most  likely," 
explained  Mrs.  Stewart. 

So  saying,  she  hurried  upstairs,  and  in  a  short 
time  returned,  carrying  the  drawer.  Anne  and 
the  two  girls  helped  cushion  it  softly,  and  then 
they  placed  Billy  in  it. 

He  was  asleep  almost  before  the  bed  was  ready, 
and  the  moment  his  head  sank  into  the  soft  pillow, 
he  closed  his  eyes. 

"He  seems  unusually  good,  Anne,"  ventured 
Mrs.  Stewart,  as  the  four  foster  mothers  stood 
gazing  down  at  the  flushed  little  baby-face. 

"And  very  pretty  for  a  young  child,"  added 
Anne. 

"Well,"  sighed  Polly,  "I  suppose  well  have  to 
hand  him  back  in  the  morning." 

"Some  time  during  the  night,  most  likely," 
grumbled  Eleanor.  "The  police  will  tell  his  folks 
where  he  is,  and  they  will  be  at  our  door  ten  min- 
utes later." 

But  no  one  called  for  Billy,  that  night,  and  in 
the  morning  the  papers  told  the  story  of  the  found- 
ling. A  minute  description  of  his  appearance  and 
clothing  was  given,  and  the  telephone  number  of 
the  family  where  he  was  to  be  found.  Mrs. 


248  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Evans  had  wisely  refrained  from  giving  any  names 
of  the  tenants  of  the  Studio. 

Before  seven  o'clock  that  morning,  the  tele- 
phone began  ringing.  Anne  answered  it,  but  de- 
scribed the  baby  left  on  their  door-step  differently 
from  what  the  anxious  mother  on  the  other  end 
of  the  wire  had  expected. 

By  eight-thirty,  the  telephone  had  called  Anne 
or  Polly  five  times.  At  last  Polly  said:  "My 
goodness !  how  can  five  mothers  lose  boys  like  ours 
in  one  evening?  Can't  they  take  care  of  them?" 

Eleanor  then  said,  "Why,  in  Chicago,  there  are 
records  of  more  than  a  score  of  babies  lost  every 
day.  Most  of  them  find  their  parents  again,  but 
lots  of  them  don't." 

"What  happens  to  the  poor  tots  who  can't  find 
their  folks  again?"  asked  Polly,  horrified. 

"They  go  to  the  orphan  asylum — or  the  Chil- 
dren's Home." 

With  a  gasp,  Polly  glanced  at  their  laughing 
little  Billy.  Then  she  looked  anxiously  at  her 
three  companions.  They  had  all  thought  of  the 
same  thing,  it  seems. 

"I  just  couldn't  let  him  go  to  a  foundling  home,  ' 
Polly  whimpered. 

"We  can  afford  to  keep  him,  Polly.  You  and 
I  can  adopt  him,"  declared  Eleanor. 


THE  FOUNDLING  249 

But  Anne  did  not  seem  to  approve  of  the  plan. 
She  shook  her  head  as  she  gazed  at  the  curly- 
haired  boy  who  was  banging  the  breakfast  table 
with  a  teaspoon.  "That  would  never  do  for  you, 
girls." 

But  another  ring  on  the  telephone  interrupted 
further  argument  on  that  subject.  Anne  de- 
scribed Billy  all  over  again — "Large  brown  eyes, 
very  soft  silky  hair — yellow  and  curly.  About 
thirty  pounds  weight,  eight  front  teeth,  aged  about 
sixteen  months." 

Before  she  had  completed  her  description  of  the 
foundling,  the  distracted  mother  at  the  other  end 
of  the  wire  sighed:  "He's  not  mine — thank 
you." 

"Polly  and  I  are  not  going  to  school  this  morn- 
ing, Anne,"  Eleanor  now  informed  the  young 
teacher. 

"I  don't  see  why  not?"  demanded  she. 

"First,  your  mother  can't  be  chasing  back  and 
forth  to  the  'phone  all  day;  and  secondly,  we  do 
not  propose  having  a  stranger  calling  and  stealing 
our  baby.  Unless  the  parents  present  perfectly 
satisfactory  evidence  that  Billy  is  theirs,  no  one 
shall  get  him." 

Anne  smiled,  but  seeing  that  it  was  almost  nine 
o'clock,  she  consented  to  the  two  girls  remaining 


250  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

home  that  session;  furthermore,  she  promised  to 
explain  to  Mrs.  Wellington  about  the  magnet  that 
had  kept  them  at  home. 

Later  in  the  morning,  Dr.  Evans  stopped  in  to 
see  if  any  one  had  called  for  the  baby.  Polly  and 
Eleanor  were  in  the  midst  of  giving  Billy  his  bath 
in  the  large  tub.  Such  laughing  and  shouting  had 
never  been  heard  in  that  bath-room  before.  Even 
Mrs.  Stewart  laughed  in  sympathy,  as  she  told  the 
doctor  what  a  fine  well-behaved  child  Billy  was. 

"I'll  call  again  this  evening,  Mrs.  Stewart.  If 
he  has  not  been  claimed  by  that  time,  I  will  see 
what  I  can  do  to  relieve  you  of  his  care." 

"Oh — he  is  no  care  whatever,  doctor;  and  I 
doubt  whether  the  girls  will  consent  to  your  taking 
him  to  a  home — for  a  few  days,  at  any  rate.  They 
think  someone  will  call  for  him." 

"But  you  haven't  any  clothes  or  other  necessi- 
ties for  him,  have  you?"  asked  the  doctor. 

"We  didn't  have  at  first,  but  Nolla  and  Polly 
ran  to  a  department  store  on  Fifth  avenue — it's 
only  a  few  blocks  over,  you  know, — and  bought 
him  everything  he  needs.  When  he  had  his  shoes 
on  he  stood  up  and  began  walking  about  while 
he  held  fast  to  the  chairs.  He  certainly  is  a  bright 
child." 

"Well,  the  girls  ought  not  to  go  silly  over  him. 


THE  FOUNDLING  251 

Buying  clothes  and  shoes  and  everything — until 
they  know  who  he  is." 

"If  no  one  ever  calls,  Billy  has  to  have  clothes; 
anyway,  we  thought  we  ought  to  get  them,  now, 
instead  of  later." 

"I  can  see,  Mrs.  Stewart,  that  you  are  as  foolish 
about  the  baby,  as  the  two  girls  are  themselves,"  *• 
laughed  Dr.  Evans,  as  he  took  up  his  hat  to  depart. 

Mrs.  Stewart  laughed,  but  the  moment  the  doc- 
tor was  out  of  the  front  door,  she  hurried  upstairs 
*o  help  dress  the  boy  after  his  bath. 

Once  he  was  dressed  m  his  new  clothing,  and 
had  had  a  full  cup  of  warm  milk  and  gruel,  he 
cuddled  down  for  his  nap. 

"Now,  no  use  talking!  he  is  a  wonder!"  de- 
clared Eleanor. 

"We  can  keep  him,  as  well  as  not.  He  isn't  one 
mite  of  trouble,"  added  Polly. 

Having  waited  until  Billy  was  fast  asleep,  Mrs. 
Stewart  tip-toed  from  the  bed-room,  beckoning  the 
girls  to  follow  her  out. 

The  police-department  had  sent  their  detective 
to  get  all  the  facts  from  Eleanor  and  Polly,  and 
the  press  had  sent  to  find  out  if  there  was  any 
other  clue  or  information  about  the  boy;  then,  no 
further  interruptions  took  place  that  day. 

The  two  girls  sat  out  under  the  locust  tree  in 


252  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

the  yard,  because  there  they  could  hear  the  first 
whimper  from  Billy,  when  he  awoke  from  his  nap. 
As  they  sat  there,  they  discussed  his  future. 

"If  no  one  ever  calls  for  him,  what  shall  we  do 
with  him?"  asked  Polly,  giving  Eleanor  a  pene- 
trating look. 

"You've  got  something  on  your  mind — what  is 
it?"  countered  Eleanor. 

"Yes,  I  have,  but  I  want  to  hear  what  you  have 
to  say." 

"I'd  love  to  keep  him,  Polly — at  least  as  long 
as  we  are  in  New  York.  I  suppose  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  take  him  abroad  with  us,  next  sum- 
mer," returned  Eleanor. 

"Yes — impossible.  And  if  we  keep  him  with 
us,  we  will  have  to  hire  a  nurse-maid,  as  poor  Mrs. 
Stewart  can't  look  after  a  lively  youngster  all  day, 
while  we  are  at  school." 

"What  was  your  idea,  then?"  wondered 
Eleanor. 

"Can't  you  guess,  Nolla?  And  his  name  is 
Billy,  too!" 

For  an  instant  Eleanor's  face  looked  too  sur- 
prised to  allow  her  to  speak.  Then  she  stam- 
mered :  "Well— of  all  things !" 

"What  do  you  make  of  it?"  laughed  Polly. 

"Wonderful — but  what  is  your  plan?" 


THE  FOUNDLING  253 

"Seeing  his  name  is  Billy,  and  his  eyes  are  dark 
brown  and  his  hair  golden  curls,  and  he  is  about 
sixteen  months  old — all  of  which  are  in  his  favor 
to  advance  my  little  scheme,  I  should  say  that  we 
try  to  keep  him  a  few  weeks,  right  now,  and  see  if 
we  can  add  to  Billy's  winsome  ways.  Meanwhile, 
we  will  use  every  effort  to  find  if  he  has  any  rela- 
tives ;  then  should  he  be  a  veritable  foundling,  we 
will  present  him  to  dear  Mr.  Dalken  for  his  very 
own." 

"Splendiferous!  Perfectly  great!"  cried  Elea- 
nor, slapping  her  friend  on  the  back  in  her  delight. 

"We  will  quietly  advertise  for  and  select  a  fine 
elderly  nurse  for  Billy,  right  off,  and  when  we 
have  him  all  ready  to  be  given  away,  he  will  be  a 
little  wonder  that  no  one  can  refuse." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Dalken  won't  think  of  refusing  him, 
I  know!  He  will  be  so  happy  to  have  a  boy 
again,"  Eleanor  said,  enthusiastically. 

Several  times  during  the  day,  the  telephone  rang 
and  someone  asked  for  a  description  of  the  baby. 
Also  a  number  of  wild  looking  people  called  at  the 
address  to  have  a  look  at  the  child,  but  all  de- 
parted with  forlorn  hopes. 

As  that  night  was  not  a  class-evening,  the  girls 
were  free  to  do  as  they  liked  with  their  time.  Anne 
and  her  mother  were  amusing  themselves,  as  much 


254  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

as  the  baby,  by  teaching  him  to  say  'Billy.'  Polly 
and  Eleanor  were  eagerly  watching  results.  But 
harshly  upon  this  sweet  scene,  the  door-bell 
jangled. 

"I'll  go!"  called  Eleanor,  and  in  another  minute 
she  had  opened  the  door. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Fabian.  Do  come  in  and  see  our 
baby!" 

Then  another  admirer  joined  the  circle  of  wor- 
shippers around  Billy's  feet.  Mr.  Fabian  had 
heard  the  story  from  Dr.  Evans  and  dropped  in 
to  see  if  the  boy  was  still  with  his  friends. 

"He  is  a  dear  little  shaver,  isn't  he?"  laughed 
Mr.  Fabian.  "But  what  will  you  do  with  him  if 
no  one  claims  him?" 

"We  really  haven't  thought  of  that,"  said  Anne. 

"I'm  afraid,  if  we  keep  him  here  with  us  a  week, 
or  more,  we  won't  want  to  give  him  up  again," 
added  Mrs.  Stewart. 

Mr.  Fabian  saw,  from  the  corner  of  his  eye, 
that  Polly  was  behind  him  trying  to  draw  his  atten- 
tion. So  he  managed  to  turn  his  head  without 
attracting  Anne's  or  Mrs.  Stewart's  attention,  and 
saw  the  two  girls  shake  their  heads  wisely,  mean- 
time their  fingers  rested  upon  their  lips  in  sign  of 
keeping  silence. 

Consequently  no  more  was  said,  that  evening, 


THE  FOUNDLING  255 

about  Billy,  and  when  Mr.  Fabian  was  ready  to 
leave,  Polly  and  Eleanor  said  they  believed  they 
would  walk  to  the  corner  with  their  old  friend. 
The  baby  had  been  in  bed  for  some  time,  and 
Anne  was  busy  writing  manuscript,  so  no  one  ob- 
jected to  the  proposal.  Mrs.  Stewart  merely 
remarked:  "Don't  go  any  farther  than  the  cor- 
ner, dearies.  And  hurry  right  back  home." 


[CHAPTER  XVI 

BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER 

THE  moment  the  two  girls  had  Mr.  Fabian  out- 
side of  the  Studio,  where  they  could  talk  in  per- 
fect freedom,  they  told  him  of  their  secret  plan. 

"We  are  going  to  keep  the  baby  for  a  few  weeks 
and  see  that  he  is  perfectly  trained,  then  we  are 
going  to  present  him  to  dear  Mr.  Dalken,"  began 
Polly,  eagerly. 

"Oh,  but  we  will  try  and  find  a  sensible  woman 
who  will  take  all  care  of  him,  and  Mr.  Dalken 
can  enjoy  Billy  when  he  is  at  home  with  nothing 
else  to  do,"  added  Eleanor. 

Mr.  Fabian  was  speechless,  then  he  smiled. 
"Does  our  friend  know  about  this?" 

"Mercy  sakes,  no!  We  want  to  surprise  him. 
We  thought  it  would  be  fine,  if  we  could  keep  the 
baby  that  long,  to  leave  him  at  Mr.  Dalken's 
apartment  on  Thanksgiving  morning,"  returned 
Polly. 

"Don't  you  think  he  would  like  that?"  from 
Eleanor,  eagerly. 

256 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         257 

"Mr.  Dalken  is  now  out  west  on  important  busi- 
ness, so  of  course,  he  doesn't  know  a  thing  about 
Billy,  unless  he  read  about  it  in  the  New  York 
papers,"  remarked  Mr.  Fabian,  thoughtfully.  "I 
don't  suppose  he  will  take  time  to  glance  over 
every  news  item  in  the  papers,  as  he  is  too  pre- 
occupied, at  present,  with  the  financial  pages." 

"Well,  what  has  that  to  do  with  our  plan?" 
asked  Eleanor. 

"He  won't  know  a  thing  about  the  baby,  and 
you  can  easily  keep  the  idea  secret  until  Thanks- 
giving, if  you  can  get  the  right  kind  of  a  woman 
to  take  daily  care  of  the  boy.  Of  course,  you 
were  going  to  do  that,  anyway,  were  you 
not?" 

"I  suppose  so — we  really  hadn't  got  as  far  as 
that  in  our  planning,"  admitted  Polly. 

"But  we  will,  Mr.  Fabian,  now  that  you  have 
mentioned  it.  How  shall  we  know  if  we  have  the 
right  sort  of  nurse?"  added  Eleanor. 

"I'll  call  up  Ashby.  I  was  there  for  dinner  to- 
night, and  they  told  me  of  a  woman  they  know 
well,  who  is  compelled  to  earn  her  living,  because 
of  family  reverses.  Shall  we  stop  in  the  hotel 
across  the  street  and  use  the  booth  there?" 

"Oh,  yes!  Let's,  Mr.  Fabian!"  exclaimed 
Eleanor. 


258  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"No  time  like  the  present  when  you  have  any 
important  work  to  do,"  added  Polly. 

Mr.  Fabian  left  the  door  of  the  telephone  booth 
slightly  ajar  so  the  two  girls  could  assist  in  the 
conversation.  He  soon  had  Mr.  Ashby's  house 
number  and  asked  if  Mr.  or  Mrs.  Ashby  were  in. 

Shortly  thereafter  a  man's  voice  was  heard  talk- 
ing on  the  wire.  "Is  this  Fabian — oh,  yes.  What 
can  I  do  for  you,  old  man?" 

Then  Mr.  Fabian  replied:  "Why,  I  called 
upon  my  girls  at  the  Studio  this  evening,  after  I 
left  you,  and  I  found  the  most  astonishing  addition 
to  their  family  circle.  A  little  baby  boy  was  left 
on  their  door-step,  it  seems.  A  fine  little  fellow, 
too. 

"So  far,  no  one  has  called  to  claim  him,  and 
should  no  one  come,  the  two  girls  have  a  plan  to 
place  him  in  a  good  home.  They  told  me  all  about 
it,  and  I  rather  approve  of  the  idea,  too.  But 
what  they  need,  at  once,  is  an  experienced,  capable 
woman  to  take  care  of  the  boy,  until  Thanksgiving 
Day — perhaps  after  that,  if  she  is  found  to  be 
satisfactory. 

"I  thought,  at  once,  of  that  woman  that  Mrs. 
Ashby  and  you  were  speaking  of,  at  table,  to-night. 
Do  you  suppose  she  would  consider  a  position  as 
second-mother  to  a  baby?" 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         259 

The  girls  strained  their  ears  to  hear  the  reply 
but  Mr.  Ashby  spoke  too  low,  and  they  could  but 
f  judge  what  he  said  by  Mr.  Fabian's  words  after- 
ward. 

"Fine !  If  Mrs.  Ashby  will  not  consider  it  too 
much  trouble.  And  she  will  bring  Martha  down 
to-morrow  afternoon  when  the  girls  are  home 
from  school?" 

Polly  and  Eleanor  smiled  with  relief,  and  Mr. 
Fabian  said  over  the  'phone,  "All  right!  Thanks, 
Ashby.  And  thank  your  wife  for  the  two  girls, 
too,  who  are  waiting  here  for  the  verdict." 

As  the  three  left  the  hotel  again,  Mr.  Fabian 
said :  "Now  that  much  is  satisfactorily  settled  for 
you,  and  Billy  shall  have  a  good  woman  to  look 
after  him,  if  he  is  still  unclaimed  to-morrow  after- 
noon." 

The  girls  were  altogether  too  inexperienced  to 
realize  that  it  was  curious  how  easily  the  Ashbys, 
Mr.  Dalken's  most  intimate  friends,  and  Mr. 
Fabian  agreed  to  such  a  strange  plan  as  trying  to 
saddle  a  foundling  baby  on  a  man  who  lived  a 
hermit's  life  when  in  his  own  home. 

They  never  questioned  the  readiness  with  which 
these  friends  accepted  their  proposition,  but  they 
were  delighted  at  the  "lucky  chance"  that  brought 
a  woman  to  Mrs.  Ashby  on  the  very  day  that  they 


260  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

began  to  think  of  employing  a  woman-nurse  for 
the  baby. 

Mr.  Fabian  walked  back  to  the  Studio  door 
with  them,  smiling  at  their  dreams  of  future  bliss 
for  Mr.  Dalken.  In  fact,  their  thoughts  traveled 
so  far  into  the  future,  that  they  saw  Billy  a  fine 
young  man  and  Mr.  Dalken,  white-haired  and 
bent,  depending  on  his  beloved  adopted  son  for 
everything. 

The  four  inmates  of  the  Studio  were  not  aware 
that  they  had  been  kept  singularly  free  from  con- 
stant annoyance  from  reporters  and  police.  Nor 
did  they  realize  that  the  short  news  article  that  had 
appeared  in  the  papers,  had  been  a  wonderful 
story  to  catch  the  eyes  of  curious  readers,  but 
some  one  in  authority  had  ordered  it  "cut"  to  an 
inch. 

The  afternoon  following  Mr.  Fabian's  visit  to 
the  girls,  they  hurried  home  from  school  and 
found  Mrs.  Ashby's  car  in  front  of  the  house. 
They  quickly  entered  the  front  door  and  greeted 
her  with  a  smiling  welcome. 

"I  see  you  have  Billy  in  hand,  already,"  laughed 
Polly. 

"Yes;  isn't  he  a  friendly  little  fellow?"  replied 
Mrs.  Ashby. 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         261 

"Wonderful !  We  never  knew  babies  were  so 
easy  to  live  with,"  added  Eleanor. 

"Mrs.  Stewart  took  Martha  up-stairs  to  show 
her  how  you  managed  for  the  baby.  He  may  need 
extra  things,  or  other  conveniences,"  suggested 
Mrs.  Ashby. 

Even  as  she  spoke,  the  sound  of  steps  was  heard 
descending  the  front  stairs,  and  soon  after,  Mrs. 
Stewart  led  Martha  in,  and  introduced  her  to 
Polly  and  Eleanor.  The  girls  liked  the  refined 
look  and  quiet  sensible  words  and  manners  of  the 
nurse-to-be. 

"Isn't  it  splendid  that  Martha  should  have  been 
relieved,  last  week,  of  just  such  a  position  as  we 
now  need  her  for  ?  She  was  in  the  country  taking 
charge  of  a  baby  of  about  this  boy's  age,  but  some 
friends  came  and  took  him  away,  so  she  was  free 
to  find  another  position,"  explained  Mrs.  Ashby. 

Martha  handled  Billy  as  if  she  was  an  expert, 
and  the  boy  crowed  and  tried  to  talk  to  her,  as  if 
he  had  known  her  all  his  life. 

"I  never  saw  a  friendlier  baby  than  this  one. 
He  smiles  and  is  contented  with  anybody,  and  that 
will  make  it  fine  for  Martha,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Stewart. 

So  it  was  immediately  decided  to  retain  Martha 


262  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

during  the  day,  but  she  would  have  to  find  a  place 
to  lodge,  nearby  and  leave  Billy  with  the  girls 
during  the  night.  This  pleased  them  well,  for 
they  did  not  wish  to  relinquish  all  rights  of  attend- 
ance on  their  baby  to  a  stranger. 

"I  may  as  well  remain  for  the  rest  of  this  after- 
noon, Madam,"  said  Martha,  speaking  to  Mrs. 
Ashby,  "as  I  have  no  other  place  to  go." 

"How  about  seeking  for  a  room  in  the  neigh- 
borhood and  taking  it  to-day?  You  may  not  have 
a  free  half  hour,  like  this,  again,"  suggested  Mrs. 
Ashby. 

Martha  silently  acquiesced  but  she  cast  a 
troubled  gaze  at  the  child;  when  Eleanor  picked 
him  up  by  the  arms,  she  immediately  corrected  the 
mistake,  by  saying,  "Miss,  you  should  always  hold 
a  baby  at  his  age,  about  the  waist — a  hand  on  each 
side  of  him.  Never  by  the  arms !" 

Mrs.  Ashby  offered  to  drive  Martha  about  to 
'hunt  up  a  furnished  room,  so  the  girls  said  good- 
by  to  their  callers. 

That  evening  was  school-night  again,  and  Mr. 
Fabian  was  interested  in  hearing  if  Martha  had 
proved  satisfactory.  Even  Ruth  Ashby  took  a 
personal  interest  in  the  baby-boy,  now  that  Martha 
was  to  be  his  nurse. 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         263 

"Do  you  know  Martha?"  asked  Polly,  sur- 
prised. 

"Of  course.  Wasn't  she  mother's  nurse,  years 
ago?" 

"Oh — I  thought  she  was  a  lady  of  means  who 
had  just  lost  everything,"  remarked  Eleanor. 

"Well,  it  is  this  way.  When  mother  was  a  little 
mite  Martha  was  a  girl  of  about  fourteen. 
Grandma  engaged  her  to  push  mother's  carriage 
out  for  a  walk  every  day.  Then  Martha  grew 
up  and  married  and  mother  never  saw  her  again, 
for  a  long  time. 

"Her  husband's  nephew  came  to  live  with  them, 
as  Martha  never  had  any  children,  but  her  nephew 
grew  up  and  married.  Then  Martha's  husband 
died,  and  she  went  to  live  with  the  nephew  and  his 
wife.  They  were  well-to-do  young  people,  and 
Martha  had  an  easy  life  there. 

"They  had  a  baby,  and  Martha  took  care  of 
him,  as  if  she  was  his  own  mother.  Then  the 
nephew  enlisted  in  the  war  and  was  killed  'over 
there.'  His  wife  pined  a  lot,  and  during  the  epi- 
demic of  the  flu,  last  Winter,  she  took  it  and  died, 
too. 

"That  left  Martha  with  the  baby,  but  she  hadn't 
a  cent  to  live  on,  because  there  was  only  the  money 


264  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

the  baby  ought  to  have  had  from  the  Government, 
because  of  losing  his  father  in  battle.  But  Martha 
didn't  understand  how  to  go  about  getting  it,  and 
when  a  friend  of  hers  offered  to  find  a  good  home 
for  the  baby,  the  poor  great-aunt  consented.  She 
had  no  other  choice,  as  she  would  have  to  work 
herself,  and  could  not  be  hampered  by  a  little  boy. 

"Then  she  came  to  mother  and  that  is  how  it  all 
happened." 

"I  wonder  what  became  of  her  grand-nephew?" 
asked  Polly. 

"Mother  begged  of  me  not  to  mention  it,  and 
never  to  refer  to  the  past,  when  Martha  was 
about,"  said  Rnth,  seriously. 

"I  suppose  the  poor  thing  misses  her  little 
nephew  so  much  I"  observed  Polly,  sympatheti- 
cally. 

"Yes,  that  must  be  the  reason,"  agreed  Ruth. 

Mr.  Fabian  listened  attentively  and  approved 
of  Mrs.  Ashby's  advice  to  her  daughter. 

No  one  came  to  claim  Billy,  and  the  days  passed 
swiftly  for  the  self-appointed  mothers  of  the  boy. 
He  was  so  merry  and  good-natured  a  child,  that 
Mrs.  Stewart  sighed  when  she  thought  of  the 
Studio  without  him.  Before  November  passed, 
he  could  walk  all  alone  and  even  tried  to  climb 
the  stairs. 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         265 

Martha  was  a  jewel  with  him.  She  never 
seemed  too  tired  to  do  things  for  him.  She  it  was, 
who  taught  him  his  table  manners  and  insisted 
upon  his  saying  "Plee"  and  "Tant"  for  anything. 
He  could  say  "Dadda"  and  "Biddy"--the  latter 
•meaning  himself. 

Polly  and  Eleanor  spent  every  spare  moment 
'  teaching  him  new  accomplishments,  so  that  before 
the  middle  of  Thanksgiving  month,  the  boy  really 
was  unusually  precocious  and  well-behaved. 

Mr.  Dalken  returned  to  New  York  the  third 
week  in  November  and  immediately  sent  out  cards 
to  his  friends  for  a  dinner-party.  It  was  very 
private,  only  the  circle  acquainted  with  Polly  and 
Eleanor  were  to  be  his  guests.  But  they  had  a 
good  time,  nevertheless,  and  Mr.  Dalken  appeared 
more  cheerful  than  of  yore. 

"Now  what  do  you  suppose  I  called  you  to- 
gether for?"  said  he,  after  the  table  had  been 
cleared  of  the  roast  and  everyone  was  ready  to 
listen  while  waiting  for  salad. 

"Dear  me,  I  hope  you  are  not  going  to  spring 
a  sensational  surprise  on  us!"  Eleanor  said,  her 
face  expressing  worry. 

Everyone  laughed,  but  Mr.  Dalken  said :  "What 
would  you  call  a  sensation?" 

"Oh,  well!  in  case  you  were  married  while  in 


266  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Chicago!    That  would  ruin  my  hopes,"  interpo- 
lated Polly,  anxiously. 

A  general  laugh  greeted  this,  and  Mr.  Dalken 
retorted : 

"I  hadn't  even  dreamed  of  such  a  possibility, 
but  now  that  you  plainly  show  me  how  you  have 
been  hoping  I  would  propose  to  you,  I  may  as  well 
take  my  medicine  like  a  man !" 

"Me — you — propose!  What  are  you  talking 
of?"  cried  Polly,  aghast. 

Everyone  laughed  teasingly,  but  Eleanor  ex- 
plained quickly.  "He  misunderstood  your  reason 
for  worrying,  Polly.  Just  like  a  man — they  think 
one  is  always  thinking  of  marriage,  even  when 
there  are  great  charities  being  perfected." 

Mr.  Dalken  now  showed  his  surprise,  and  asked 
what  really  was  the  cause  of  Polly's  anxiety. 

"Oh,  you'll  see  some  day.  We  can't  tell  you 
now!"  laughed  Eleanor. 

"Then  I  may  as  well  confess  to  you-all  and  tell 
you  what  my  surprise  is. 

"I  finished  my  business  in  Chicago  much  sooner 
than  I  had  hoped  for,  and  went  on  to  Pebbly  Pit 
to  see  how  things  were  progressing.  I  had  a  de- 
lightful visit  at  the  ranch,  and  am  able  to  say  that 
work  has  reached  the  point,  now,  where  the  mining 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         267 

machines  will  start  working  next  week,  unless 
snow  stops  everything." 

"Oh,  then  you  saw  father  and  mother!"  cried 
Polly,  eagerly. 

"Yes,  and  I  have  all  sorts  of  good  things  for 
you  from  home.  A  jar  of  preserves,  and  a  dozen 
or  more  of  glasses  filled  with  jelly  and  other  delec- 
table sweets  that  Sary  insisted  that  I  carry  to  you. 
I  did  my  best  to  explain  that  it  would  be  cheaper 
and  safer  if  she  sent  them  by  express  or  parcel 
post — but  no !  She  told  me  'A  bird  in  th'  hand  is 
wuth  two  er  three  in  a  bush.'  ' 

Polly  and  Eleanor  instantly  visualized  Sary  as 
she  made  this  remark,  and  they  laughed  merrily. 

Mr.  Dalken  then  repeated  minutest  details  of 
the  work  on  Rainbow  Cliffs,  and  the  gold  mine  on 
Grizzly  Slide.  As  everything  promised  so  well, 
the  girls  felt  elated  at  their  future  prospects. 

Mr.  Ashby  wanted  to  know  if  his  friend  had 
succeeded  in  buying  any  more  stock  for  him,  and 
Mr.  Dalken  replied:  "You'll  have  to  wait  until 
Latimer  issues  another  block.  No  one  I  know  of 
will  sell  any  of  what  they  hold." 

The  evening  passed  pleasantly  with  intimate 
matters  to  speak  of,  and  at  last  Anne  said:  "We 
must  be  going,  Mr.  Dalken.  The  girls  have  one 


268  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

of  their  long  class  days,  to-morrow,  you  know." 

"Yes,  and  Martha  will  want  to  go  to  bed," 
added  Mrs.  Stewart. 

"Whose  Martha?  Got  a  servant  at  last?" 
asked  Mr.  Dalken. 

"Why,  no,  Martha — "  Mrs.  Stewart  began  in- 
nocently, but  the  two  girls  wildly  interrupted  her. 
Polly  shouted  unusually  loud  for  her,  "Oh,  I  am 
so  tired!" 

Eleanor  had  managed  to  wink  her  eyes  warn- 
ingly  at  Mrs.  Stewart,  and  that  lady  realized  that 
she  had  almost  "put  her  foot  in  it."  Mr.  Dalken 
noticed  something  was  disturbing  the  two  girls,  but 
he  never  dreamed  what  it  was. 

The  following  evening,  at  art  class,  Mr.  Fabian 
had  news  for  the  two  girls.  "Mr.  Ashby  has  in- 
vited Mr.  Dalken  to  have  his  Thanksgiving  Din- 
ner with  his  family,  and  that  will  give  you  the 
opportunity  you  need,  to  get  Billy  settled  in  h;s  new 
home." 

"Oh,  how  can  we  part  from  him!"  sighed  Elea- 
nor, wiping  an  eye,  as  she  pictured  the  lonely 
rooms. 

"Yes—"  sighed  Polly,  mournfully.  "That's 
the  worst  of  having  a  dog  or  a  baby  that  you 
become  so  fond  of." 

"But  you  will  see  Billy  three  nights  a  week,  and 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         269 

you  never  could  have  kept  him  for  yourselves, 
you  know,"  said  Mr.  Fabian. 

Thanksgiving  Day  Martha  seemed  all  upset. 
The  idea  of  moving  the  baby  to  a  new  home,  and 
perhaps,  not  being  welcome,  made  her  cry  softly, 
now  and  then.  The  little  family  at  the  Studio,  in- 
stead of  being  very  grateful  for  all  the  blessings 
they  had  had  during  the  past  year,  went  about 
looking  forlorn  and  miserable. 

They  went  to  the  Latimers  for  dinner  that  noon, 
and  left  Martha  with  the  baby.  It  had  been 
planned  that  they  would  get  back  home  by  eight 
o'clock  and  accompany  their  baby-gift  over  to  Mr. 
Dalken's  apartment.  Billy  would  be  placed  in  bed 
where  his  new  foster  father  would  find  him,  and 
then  would  come  the  joy  of  it  all. 

The  plans  worked  out  as  expected  to  a  certain 
degree.  Mr.  Dalken  went  up  to  the  Ashbys  for 
dinner,  and  a  little  after  eight  o'clock,  a  mournful 
procession  wended  its  way  from  the  Studio  door. 
Martha  carried  Billy  carefully.  Polly  and  Elea- 
nor carried  the  tub,  chair,  and  other  articles  of  use 
for  the  baby.  Anne  carried  the  bundles  of  cloth- 
ing, and  Mrs.  Stewart  carried  the  milk-warmer, 
the  other  food-equipment,  and  the  extra  blankets. 

Mr.  Dalken's  chauffeur  opened  the  door  to  ad- 
mit the  visitors,  but  when  he  saw  the  burdens  the 


270  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

ladies  carried,  he  was  speechless.  Eleanor  tried  to 
explain  that  they  had  a  new  boy  for  Mr.  Dalken, 
but  Henri  seemed  not  to  appreciate  the  fact. 

Billy  was  gurgling  and  trying  to  get  his  active 
fists  out  of  the  quilted  blanket,  but  Martha  held 
him  firmly  until  she  had  him  in  the  bed-room  where 
Mr.  Dalken  slept. 

"We  are  going  to  leave  him  right  in  the  middle 
of  this  big  bed,  Henri,  so  his  new  father  will  find 
him  when  he  comes  in  to-night,"  explained  Elea- 
nor, arranging  the  baby's  bedding  on  the  large 
expanse  of  bed-spread. 

Billy  was  arrayed  for  the  night,  and  everyone 
kissed  him  tearfully,  as  if  he  was  about  to  be 
placed  in  his  coffin.  Then  Martha  gave  him  a 
drink  of  warm  milk  and  placed  him  in  his  blankets. 

Hardly  had  they  tucked  him  up,  before  the  bell 
at  the  entrance  rang  imperatively.  Henri  glanced 
distractedly  at  the  baby  and  then  at  the  other  visi- 
tors, before  he  turned  to  answer  the  call.  It  rang 
a  second  time  before  he  opened  the  door. 

"Let's  turn  down  the  light  and  hide  behind  the 
velour  portieres,"  whispered  Anne,  anxiously. 

The  five  guilty  members  of  the  surprise-party 
quickly  hid  themselves  as  best  they  could,  but  not 
so  soon,  but  that  they  heard  Henri  returning.  He 
was  talking,  and  other  voices  were  replying. 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         271 

"I  donno  why  the  missee's  come  in  an'  fetch  a 
bebby.  Dey  say  'He  a  big  surprise,'  Mr. 
Dalken." 

To  the  amazement  of  the  hidden  ones,  Mr.  Dai- 
ken's  voice  now  replied;  "Never  mind,  Henri. 
I'll  be  out  with  my  visitors,  in  a  moment.  I  only 
want  to  get  a  handkerchief  from  the  dresser." 

The  five  culprits  saw  him  switch  up  the  lights 
and  they  then  heard  Billy  welcome  the  unusual 
privilege  with  a  gurgle.  Not  a  sound  came  from 
the  man  who  must  have  heard  the  baby-voice 
and  seen  the  occupant  of  his  massive  four- 
poster. 

Polly  could  stand  it  no  longer.  She  had  to  peep 
out  at  what  was  going  on.  The  first  thing  she  saw, 
was  Eleanor's  head  showing  from  the  side  of  the 
other  portiere.  Both  girls  watched  the  scene  with 
bated  breath. 

Mr.  Dalken  stood  beside  the  bed,  looking  down 
at  the  little  bundle  that  made  a  dent  in  the  middle 
of  his  comfortable  mattress.  Billy  was  waving 
his  fists  invitingly,  as  if  to  say,  "Come  on  and 

fight!" 

As  the  two  girls  watched  him,  Mr.  Dalken 
smiled  and  said:  "So  you  are  Billy  Martin,  are 

you?" 

The  two  eaves-droppers  glanced  at  each  other 


172  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

•. 

in  consternation.  "How  and  why  did  Mr.  Dai- 
ken  call  their  baby  Billy  Martin?" 

"Well,  Billy,  suppose  we  go  out  and  see  what 

^your  Daddy  thinks  of  you.     For  my  part,  I  say 

jyou're    just    about    perfect."    As    Mr.    Dalken 

spoke,  he  carefully  lifted  the  willing  baby  from  the 

bed  and  cuddled  him  in  his  arms.    Then  he  went 

from  the  room. 

"Polly!"  hissed  Eleanor,  anxiously,  "did  you 
hear  what  he  said?" 

"S-shl  let  us  follow  and  see  what's  the  matter. 
Someone  came  in  with  Mr.  Dalken,  you  know," 
returned  Polly  in  a  low  voice. 

Mrs.  Stewart  and  Anne  now  crept  from  behind 
the  heavy  window  curtains  and  tip-toed  after  Polly 
and  Eleanor.  And,  last  of  all,  Martha  came  from 
behind  the  door  and  followed  in  the  wake  of  the 
other  four.  Then  they  heard  Mr.  Dalken  talking. 

"Well,  here's  the  boy,  but  how  he  ever  got  into 
my  rooms  I  cannot  say.  Mrs.  Ashby  will  have  to 
explain  that,  in  a  minute,  as  she  is  the  one  who 
seemed  to  know  where  to  find  Martha  and  the 
baby." 

Martha  was  still  in  the  hall  and  could  not  see 
who  was  in  the  living-room  with  Mr.  Dalken,  but 
the  four  conspirators  now  stood  staring  at  the 
group  in  the  center  of  the  lighted  room. 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         273 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ashby  were  seated  in  comfortable 
arm-chairs,  smiling  happily  at  the  two  standing 
men  and  about  to  make  the  baby  comfortable.  He 
had  been  transferred  from  Mr.  Dalken's  arms  to 
those  of  a  younger  man  who  was  trembling  with! 
joy  at  beholding  Billy's  smiling  little  face. 

"There,  now,  Martin.  Isn't  he  worth  living 
for  ?  You  said  you  wanted  to  die,  when  you  found 
your  wife  was  gone.  But  let  me  tell  you,  my  boy, 
this  baby  ought  to  make  you  brace  up."  Mr.  Dai- 
ken  patted  the  strange  young  man  on  the  shoulder, 
and  just  then  Martha  burst  into  the  room. 

"Jimmy!  Oh,  Jimmy — is  it  you,  or  is  it  some- 
one who  looks  like  my  dead  Jimmy?" 

"Aunt  Martha — Dear  Aunt  Martha — it  is  your 
own  Jimmy.  I  was  a  long  time  coming  home,  but 
here  I  am  at  last !" 

Then  Polly  and  Eleanor  learned  the  true  story 
about  their  precious  Billy  who  was,  according  to 
them,  to  have  adopted  Mr.  Dalken  for  a  father. 

"Girls,  I  appreciate  your  great  sacrifice  to  try 
and  make  me  happy,  for  I  have  heard  from  the 
Ashbys  how  much  you  wanted  to  keep  Billy,  but 
you  felt  that  he  ought  to  belong  to  me.  Seeing 
that  he  came  so  near  to  being  mine,  I  shall  always 
take  a  great  interest  in  him  and  his  relatives," 
began  Mr.  Dalken,  while  Jimmy  Martin  and 


274  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Martha  went  into  the  other  room  to  be  alone  with 
the  baby. 

"You  see,  Mrs.  Ashby  is  at  the  bottom  of  this 
plot  and  having  roped  in  her  husband  to  believe 
just  as  she  did,  the  next  step  was  to  make  the  whole 
plan  seem  accidental. 

"So,  when  Martha  was  left  with  the  baby,  she 
called  on  Mrs.  Ashby  for  help.  Seeing  that  the 
boy  had  brown  eyes  and  was  named  Billy,  my 
anxious  friend  decided  that  he  was  what  I  ought 
to  have  to  cheer  me.  Martha  was  boarded  in  a 
country  home  until  I  prepared  to  go  west  on  my 
business  trip. 

"Just  about  that  time,  you  found  an  unknown 
babe  on  your  door-step,  but  had  we  been  able  to 
look  behind  the  scenes,  I  think  you  would  have  seen 
the  Ashby's  car  down  on  the  corner,  and  Martha 
anxiously  waiting  to  see  if  you  took  Billy  in,  all 
right. 

"After  that,  Billy  made  his  own  way  with  you 
people,  as  he  is  apt  to  make  it  with  everyone.  And 
what  was  so  natural,  as  that  you  should  fall  in  with 
Mr.  Fabian's  well-learned  lesson.  The  Ashbys 
made  him  memorize  just  what  to  say  and  to  do  it 
every  day. 

"All  went  as  had  been  planned,  and  my  dear 
friends  here  were  so  pleased  with  themselves  at 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         275 

the  little  scheme,  that  they  planned  to  return  home 
with  me  to-night  and  see  how  I  liked  the  baby- 
surprise.  But  this  is  where  an  unexpected  and  un- 
known actor  entered  upon  the  stage. 

"James  Martin  was  not  killed  in  battle.  He 
was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  by  the  Germans. 
He  was  so  dangerously  injured  that  he  was  left  to 
die  in  a  small  town  in  the  interior.  But  he  man- 
aged to  pull  through,  and  after  many  months  of 
convalescence,  he  worked  his  way  from  Germany 
back  to  Paris. 

"It  took  several  months  more  to  identify  him 
and  get  a  passport  for  him  to  America.  When  he 
went  to  his  old  home  town  to  find  his  wife  and 
child,  he  learned  that  one  was  dead  and  the  other 
was  taken  away  by  the  aunt.  The  shock  sent  him 
to  the  county  hospital  again,  and  it  was  several 
months  before  he  could  get  out  to  start  a  hunt  for 
his  boy. 

"He  learned  where  Martha  had  gone,  and  to- 
night, James  called  at  the  house  to  ask  Mrs.  Ashby 
if  she  knew  anything  about  his  boy  and  aunt.  I 
happened  to  be  in  the  hall  when  he  came  in. 

"So  here  we  are,  girls;  you  lose  a  protege  and 
I  lose  a  boy." 

"Oh,  but  James  wins  back  his  boy  again!"  cried 

Polly,  delightedly. 


276  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"I  want  to  know,  Mr.  Dalken,"  demanded  Elea- 
nor, frowning,  "did  Ruth  Ashby  know  the  truth 
about  this  when  she  told  us  that  yarn  about 
Martha?" 

Mr.  Dalken  laughed.  "No,  girls.  Poor  Ruth 
is  as  upset  about  it  as  you  could  wish  her  to  be. 
She  wants  me  to  adopt  Billy,  anyway,  even  with 
his  real  father  on  hand  to  claim  him.  I  really 
think  Mrs.  Ashby  is  the  one  we  have  to  put 
through  the  third  degree  on  this  whole  plot." 

Mrs.  Ashby  looked  up  and  smiled.  "Well,  I 
told  the  truth  about  the  matter,  didn't  I?  But  I 
refrained  from  telling  Ruth  that  Martha  was  the 
same  woman  who  was  aunt  to  Billy,  and  I  with- 
held the  facts  that  Billy  was  the  same  baby  that 
you  girls  found  on  your  door-step — that's  all." 

"That's  all "  laughed  Mr.  Dalken.  "As  if 

that  was  not  enough !  To  deprive  me  of  the  son 
my  two  pet  girls  tried  to  place  in  my  arms." 

Polly  flung  herself  in  his  arms  and  hugged  him 
as  she  said,  "Nolla  and  I  will  have  to  adopt  you 
ourselves,  now." 

And  he  whispered  in  her  ear,  so  only  she  could 
hear :  "You  haven't  any  idea  how  happy  you  girls 
make  me.  I  have  found  something  in  life  worth 
while,  since  I  found  all  of  these  good  friends." 

Then  Mrs.  Ashby  said :    "Dalk,  you  have  been 


BILLY  FINDS  A  FATHER         277* 

hunting  for  a  reliable  man  and  wife  to  take  charge 
of  your  apartment,  so  I  think  it  is  Providence  that 
sent  Martha  and  James  to  you.  You  will  have 
mirable  help  in  them  and  little  Billy,  too." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

POLLY  AND  ELEANOR  LEAVE  FOR  EUROPE 

"I  DO  declare !  here  it  is  the  first  of  May,  and  it 
seems  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday  that  we  came 
back  to  New  York  to  study,"  exclaimed  Eleanor, 
as  Polly  and  she  were  returning  from  art  class  one 
evening. 

"And  we  are  no  more  decided  about  what  we 
shall  do  this  Summer,  than  we  were  last  Fall.  If 
only  Dad  would  consent  to  our  joining  the  Ash- 
bys  and  Mr.  Fabian  on  the  European  trip,  in 
June,"  returned  Polly. 

"I'm  glad  father  says  /  may  go  if  your  father 
consents.  Of  course  we  shall  have  to  go,  some 
time  or  other,  Polly,  before  we  could  settle  down 
as  experienced  decorators ;  but  this  is  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity— to  be  members  of  a  party  of  appreciative 
people  such  as  is  seldom  offered  to  young  begin- 
ners as  we  are." 

"Eleanor,  have  you  thought  of  what  we  shall 
do,  next  year  of  school,  if  Anne  marries  John? 

278 


LEAVE  FOR  EUROPE  279 

You  know,  Mrs.  Stewart  says  she  is  going  back  to 
Denver  to  keep  house  for  Paul,  as  he  will  gradu- 
ate with  the  other  boys,  next  month." 

"Uh-huh !  John  and  Tom  will  settle  down  at 
Pebbly  Pit  to  superintend  the  mine  and  jewel  cliffs, 
and  Paul  will  join  the  survey  crew  in  Denver.  I 
suppose  my  brother  Pete  will  be  hanging  about 
them,  somewhere,  doing  odd  jobs,  now  and  then." 

Eleanor  spoke  in  a  half-humorous  tone,  but 
Polly  was  in  earnest. 

"Well,  then,  if  Anne  is  John's  wife,  and  Mrs. 
Stewart  in  Denver,  where  do  we  fit  in?" 

"I've  thought  it  all  out,  Polly — never  fear !  You 
see  Mr.  Fabian  expects  to  bring  his  wife  and 
daughter  back  to  America  this  year,  as  Nancy  has 
finished  her  art  studies  abroad.  If  we  make  our- 
selves agreeable  to  them,  and  then  hint  gently,  on 
the  trip  back  home,  that  we  have  no  place  to  live 
in,  the  coming  winter,  they'll  take  us  right  in  with 
them.  How'd  you  like  that!" 

"Oh,  it  would  be  great,  Nolla,  but  would  it  be 
quite  the  proper  thing  for  us  to  do — to  throw  our- 
selves upon  their  hospitality?" 

"Polly,  they  ought  to  be  thankful  to  have  two 
such  nice  girls  with  them !  To  say  nothing  of  our 
eventually  becoming  the  greatest  interior  decora- 
tors of  the  present  day,"  exclaimed  Eleanor,  her 


280  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

well-shaped  little  head  rearing  itself  in  conscious 
pride. 

Polly  laughed.  "Well,  Nolla,  we  will  never 
suffer  for  lack  of  self-esteem.  Even  if  others  de- 
clare we  know  nothing,  you  will  be  able  to  keep  the 
family  pride  up  to  high-water  mark.  If  we  knew 
but  one-third  of  all  you  think  we  do,  we  could  take 
Mr.  Ashby  in  partnership  with  us,  now." 

"There's  another  thing,  Polly,  that  is  a  golden 
opportunity  for  us.  The  idea  of  having  a  success- 
ful decorator  like  Mr.  Ashby  plan  to  take  us  in  his 
business  when  we  are  through  school,  is  enough  to 
turn  anyone's  head.  But  not  ours,  Polly — we  are 
too  sensible !" 

Again  Polly  laughed  at  her  friend's  meekness — 
so-called.  "Mr.  Ashby  may  change  his  mind  before 
we  are  ready  to  accept  his  offer.  We  have  two 
years  still  in  which  to  study,  you  know." 

"That  will  fly  like  these  past  two  years  have. 
Why  here  we  are  only  sixteen  and  just  see  all  we 
know!" 

"Yes,  and  just  see  all  we  have  yet  to  know!" 
retorted  Polly. 

"I  tell  you  what,  those  Saturday  mornings  we 
spent  in  Mr.  Ashby's  sales-rooms  were  a  wonder- 
ful help,  eh?" 

"Yes;  I  really  believe,  Nolla,  that  I  learned  as 


LEAVE  FOR  EUROPE  281 

much  of  textiles,  and  fabrics,  by  simply  handling 
and  selling  the  materials,  as  if  I  had  given  days  to 
the  study  of  them." 

"It  was  not  only  a  brilliant  idea  of  Mr.  Fa- 
bian's, to  suggest  to  Mr.  Ashby  that  Ruth  and  we 
two  girls  be  permitted  to  act  as  clerks  in  his  rooms, 
but  it  was  as  kind  and  generous  of  Mr.  Ashby  to 
take  us.  The  way  he  taught  us  all  about  different 
factories  and  their  best  and  weakest  points  in 
manufacture ;  the  time  he  took  to  demonstrate  dif- 
ferences in  lace  and  silk  curtains,  the  best  style  of 
linen  for  covers  and  draperies,  the  tapestries  and 
carpets  of  modern  factories — why,  I  can  tell  at  a 
glance  now,  just  whose  goods  I  am  handling." 

"Yes,"  admitted  Polly.  "How  many  decora- 
tors' assistants  know  the  style  of  upholstery  but- 
tons that  ought  to  be  used  on  a  French  divan  ?  Or 
what  shaped  button  ought  to  go  on  a  Turkish 
chair?  I  never  dreamed  that  there  was  any  dif- 
ference, according  to  art,  between  a  tufted  wing- 
chair  and  one  that  was  smoothly  upholstered.  I 
bet  the  majority  of  people  select  one  or  the  other 
because  they  like  the  looks,  but  very  few  know  that 
certain  lines  in  a  fire-side  chair  demand  tufted 
upholstery,  and  another  period  must  never  have 
buttons  or  fringe." 

"Exactly!    That  is  what  I  mean,  Polly,  when  I 


282  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

say  I  am  sure  we  two  know  an  awful  lot  about 
decorating,  already.  It  is  so." 

"Dear  old  Fabian  says,  this  is  our  critical  year 
— if  we  can  manage  to  pass  through  the  period 
between  second  and  third  years  of  study  without 
discovering  that  we  know  it  all,  we  may  eventually 
hope  to  become  average  decorators,"  Polly 
laughed. 

"Pooh !  We  both  know  Mr.  Fabian  is  a  dotard 
about  us.  If  anyone  dares  to  hint  that  we  are  not 
as  advanced  as  he  says  we  are,  he  glares  like  a 
jealous  cat  over  her  kittens." 

Polly  and  Eleanor  reached  the  Studio  by  this 
time  and  found  Anne  reading  a  long  letter  from 
John.  She  was  smiling  happily  as  she  read,  and 
Eleanor  grinned  charitably  at  her. 

Polly  sat  down  to  wait  till  the  letter  was  read. 
Then  Anne  glanced  over  at  the  girls. 

"Well,  dears,  John  has  definitely  settled  every- 
thing. Tom  Latimer  and  he  are  coming  on  to  New 
York  directly  their  college  commencement  is  over. 
Polly's  father  and  mother  may  decide  to  come,  but 
that  is  not  yet  certain.  As  soon  as  you  two  girls 
are  off,  we  will  all  go  back  home  and  stay." 

"  'And  they  lived  happily  ever  after,'  "  quoth 
Eleanor,  teasingly. 

Anne  smiled.    Polly  seemed  dissatisfied. 


LEAVE  FOR  EUROPE  283- 

"What  do  you  mean  'as  soon  as  you  girls  are 
off?'" 

"Why,  off  on  the  European  trip.  The  Ashbys 
were  here  to-night  and  it  is  all  settled.  Mr.  Brew- 
ster  wrote  a  fine  letter  and  thanked  them  for  their 
wonderful  offer  to  chaperone  you  girls." 

"Oh,  oh!"  shouted  Eleanor,  springing  up  and 
throwing  her  arms  about  Polly's  neck. 

Anne  and  her  mother  laughed  as  the  impulsive 
girl  whirled  Polly  around  and  around,  until  both, 
exhausted,  fell  upon  the  divan.  Then  Polly  asked 
the  question  Eleanor  had  choked  in  her  throat. 

"What  about  John,  Anne?  Are  you  going  to 
Denver  or  to  Pebbly  Pit?" 

"I  expect  to  go  to  Pebbly  Pit,  dear,"  said  Anne, 
blushing. 

"No  need  to  feel  embarrassed  over  it,  Anne," 
laughed  Eleanor.  "It  isn't  as  if  we  had  never 
heard  of  your  plan.  Besides  we  are  all  in  the 
family,  now — or  at  least  we  will  be." 

"Where  does  your  relationship  come  in, 
Nolla?"  asked  Mrs.  Stewart,  quizzically. 

"Why,  didn't  you  know,  Mother  Stewart?  / 
propose  to  become  Paul's  bride,  some  day,  but  he 
doesn't  know  it,  either!"  and  the  irrepressible  girl 
laughed  madly  as  she  ran  upstairs  to  her  room. 

Her  friends  in  the  living-room  laughed  also,  but 


284  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Polly  doubted  that  it  was  said  in  fun.  She  rather 
suspected  Eleanor  of  receiving  many  nice  letters 
from  Paul  Stewart,  during  her  second  year  in  New 
York.  But  Eleanor  kept  her  own  secret. 

As  June  entered  and  schools  were  all  beginning 
their  examinations,  Mrs.  Stewart  began  to  clear 
up  the  rooms  in  the  home  they  had  occupied  for 
two  years.  Anne's  and  her  own  personal  property 
were  to  be  packed  and  sent  to  Denver.  Polly  and 
Eleanor's  had  to  be  sorted  and  packed  and  stored; 
the  winter  clothing  in  strong  moth-proof  chests, 
and  the  things  they  proposed  taking  abroad  with 
them,  in  small  steamer  trunks. 

Mr.  Fabian  had  spoken  for  the  lease  on  the 
Studio  when  Mrs.  Stewart's  time  expired,  and 
until  then,  most  of  the  furniture  could  remain  as 
it  was.  Polly  and  Eleanor  were  to  have  the  two 
small  rooms  and  live  with  the  Fabians,  and  Mrs. 
Fabian  had  written  that  she  would  buy  back  the 
things  as  they  stood,  thus  saving  everyone  trouble 
and  time. 

As  the  days  of  June  passed,  Anne  had  another 
letter  from  John,  begging  her  to  come  to  the 
graduation  in  Chicago.  But  Polly  and  Eleanor 
needed  her  in  New  York,  as  everything  was  in  a 
panic  preparing  for  the  ocean  voyage,  and  work- 
ing so  hard  at  school,  too. 


LEAVE  FOR  EUROPE  285 

Before  the  girls  knew  it,  therefore,  the  west- 
erners were  with  them  in  New  York.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Brewster  expected  to  see  Polly  off  on  the 
steamer,  and  John  said  he  had  unexpectedly 
planned  to  have  Anne  marry  him  before  Polly 
sailed. 

"Oh,  that  will  be  great !  A  wedding  and  a  fare- 
well party  all  in  one,"  cried  Eleanor. 

But  John  took  Polly  aside  and  whispered: 
"Polly,  I  want  my  only  sister  to  witness  my  mar- 
riage to  the  best  girl  living,  so  you  will  have  to 
persuade  Anne  to  look  at  it  as  I  do." 

"All  right,  John,"  laughingly  replied  Polly. 
"I'll  do  my  best  to  make  her  steal  my  only  brother 
from  me." 

Tom  Latimer  joined  them  at  this  moment,  and 
said  to  Polly:  "You  have  grown  so  tall  and  look 
such  a  fine  young  lady,  that  I  wonder  how  Anne 
can  steal  any  man  from  you.  Now  if  I  were  John, 
I  should  never  want  to  be  stolen  from  you." 

"Oh,  Tom!"  laughed  Polly,  greatly  amused  at 
his  words.  "You  talk  exactly  like  Winnie  Tre- 
vors. He's  the  society  pet  that  expects  to  marry 
Elizabeth  Dalken.  But  you  should  see  him — and 
hear  him  talk!" 

"Tom  Latimer  would  never  thank  you  for  that 
left-handed  compliment,  Polly,  if  he  could  but  see 


286  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

the  slim  little  dude  you  compared  to  him,"  said 
Eleanor,  joining  the  group. 

"I  believe  I  do  know  him,  Polly — If  he  is  the 
silver-haired  lap-dog  I  went  to  grammar-school 
with." 

"Yes — he  has  got  whitish  hair,  Tom!"  laughed 
Eleanor. 

Polly  smiled  but  said  nothing.  Then  Tom  said, 
"Will  you  take  all  that  back,  Poll,  or  must  I  pun- 
ish you  severely,  some  day." 

"I  never  take  back  a  word  I  once  have  said — 
unless  I  can  see  where  I  can  benefit  myself.  You 
see,  Tom,  I  have  changed  woefully,  since  living  in 
New  York.  I  am  exactly  like  other  citizens  here 
— I  am  supremely  selfish,  these  days." 

Tom  smiled.  "I  can  offer  you  a  bite  of  attrac- 
tive bait.  Will  you  apologise  for  calling  me  'ex- 
actly like  Winnie'  if  I  tell  you  a  profound  secret?" 

"That  depends !  What  do  you  call  'profound,' 
and  will  I  be  concerned  in  hearing  it?"  teased 
Polly. 

Eleanor  had  never  known  Polly  to  behave  so 
coquettishly  before,  and  to  her  astonishment,  she 
beheld  her  little  model  of  virtue  flirt  distractingly 
with  Tom.  Or  Eleanor  thought  Polly  was  flirt- 
ing, when  she  sent  a  dazzling  look  at  him  from 
her  wonderful  eyes, 


LEAVE  FOR  EUROPE  287 

"It  is  the  secret  about  the  Valentine  Roses.  At 
last  I  have  managed  to  learn  who  really  sent  them 
to  you." 

Eleanor  perked  up.  Here  was  a  delightful 
situation.  Polly  had  never  been  able  to  find  out 
who  had  sent  the  roses,  and  Tom  was  ready  to 
confess. 

"Oh,  really!"  exclaimed  Polly,  eagerly  inquisi- 
tive. 

Tom  laughed.  "Are  you  concerned?  Is  it  a 
profound  secret?" 

"Yes,  oh,  yes,  Tom!"  cried  Eleanor,  excitedly. 
"Do  tell  us  what  you  know." 

"But  Polly  has  to  show  her  interest,  too.  If 
she  says  she  is  sorry  for  likening  me  to  Winfield, 
I  will  tell  her  who  sent  the  roses." 

"Is  he  nice,  Tom?"  asked  Polly,  anxiously. 

"I  have  heard  people  say  he  is,  and  /  think  him 
great!" 

Eleanor  chuckled.  This  was  a  scene  after  her 
own  heart. 

"Is  he  old— or  ugly,  Tom?"  added  Polly. 

"No — he  is  young,  and  not  very  bad-looking." 

Polly  thought  seriously,  then  said:  "Does  he 
live  in  New  York?" 

"I  won't  answer  any  more  such  questions,  Polly, 
it  isn't  fair  unless  you  do  your  part,"  laughed  Tom. 


288  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

"Oh,  well,  then,  please  excuse  me  for  ever  men- 
tioning you  in  the  same  breath  with  Winnie," 
giggled  Polly.  "Now  tell  me  who  sent  those 
roses." 

"I  will,  Polly,  but  not  to-day.  I  did  not  promise 
to  tell  you,  at  once — so  I  will  wait  until  after 
John's  wedding." 

Polly  stamped  her  foot  as  Tom  hurried  away, 
and  Eleanor  laughed  merrily  at  the  hoax.  But 
there  was  too  much  going  on  all  about  them,  to 
bother,  now,  about  roses  that  were  almost  two 
years  old. 

Mr.  Maynard  arrived  from  Chicago  in  time  for 
the  quiet  little  wedding  at  "The  Church  around 
the  Corner,"  and  then  everyone  went  to  the  Studio 
for  a  reception.  John  and  his  bride  left  for  a  very 
short  honey-moon,  and  later,  all  thoughts  centered 
on  Polly  and  Eleanor.  It  would  be  their  turn  to 
say  good-by  in  a  few  days. 

Tom  Latimer  outdid  himself  during  the  days 
intervening  between  John's  wedding  and  Polly's 
sailing.  Jim  and  Ken  were  back  from  college,  but 
somehow  the  two  girls  who  had  been  such  fine 
young  pals  out  in  the  Rockies,  and  on  that  Coney 
Island  trip,  now  seemed  several  years  older  than 
these  boys.  They  couldn't  understand  it. 

Mr.  Fabian  could  have  explained  the  change. 


LEAVE  FOR  EUROPE  289 

It  was  mostly  psychological,  due  to  the  advanced 
mental  training  his  girls  had  received  in  their  study 
of  a  chosen  high  profession.  They  truly  were  far 
superior,  now,  to  either  of  the  two  boys  at  Yale, 
although  they  were  not  aware  of  it  at  the  time. 

The  day  for  the  sailing  of  the  steamer  arrived, 
and  a  gay  party  stood  on  the  pier  just  before  the 
good-bys  had  to  be  said.  Mrs.  Brewster  gave 
Polly  many  warnings  and  advices,  and  Mr.  May- 
nard  begged  Eleanor  not  to  bankrupt  him  during 
her  stay  in  Paris. 

Books,  flowers,  fruit  and  candy,  had  been  piled 
up  in  the  arms  of  Ruth  Ashby,  Polly  and  Eleanor, 
until  they  could  not  shake  the  extended  hands  of 
their  friends  when  the  time  came  to  really  say 
good-by. 

"Never  mind  your  hands,  we'll  kiss  your  faces  I" 
laughed  Mr.  Maynard,  and  straightway  began 
kissing  the  pretty  struggling  girls. 

As  everyone  in  the  group  was  an  old  friend, 
each  one  took  toll  of  the  girls'  cheeks,  and  just  as 
Jim  Latimer,  the  last  in  the  line,  caught  a  swift 
brush  of  Ruth's  ear,  Tom  Latimer  strolled  up. 

"Hello,  Tom!  Where  have  you  been?"  called 
his  father. 

"Better  get  your  kiss,  Tom,  or  you'll  be  left," 

added  Jim. 


29o  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

So  Tom  managed  to  get  his  "good-by"  from 
Ruth  and  from  Eleanor,  but  Polly  blushed  furi- 
ously, and  reared  her  head. 

"If  another  silly  man  kisses  me,  I'll — I'll — slap 
him!" 

Of  course  everyone  laughed  uproariously  at 
this,  but  the  guard  suddenly  shouted,  "All 
aboard."  And  the  sailing  party  rushed  up  the 
gang-plank. 

Once  on  deck,  however,  Polly  remembered 
something  she  had  meant  to  ask  Tom  Latimer. 
She  leaned  over  the  rail  and  called  back: 

"Oh,  Tom!  you  never  told  me  who  sent  the 
roses !" 

"You'll  find  out  about  it  when  you  reach  your 
state-room,"  shouted  Tom,  making  a  megaphone 
of  his  hands.  "I  met  him  there,  talking  to  the 
steward,  and  you  will  know  as  soon  as  you  go 
down." 

Eleanor  giggled.  "That's  where  Tom  was  when 
Mr.  Dalken  dared  anyone  to  take  one  of  his  girls 
away  from  him." 

"But  who  could  Tom  have  met  in  our  state- 
room, Nolla  ?  I  thought  everyone  was  on  the  pier 
with  us?" 

The  steamer  had  already  swung  down-stream, 


LEAVE  FOR  EUROPE  291 

and  the  friends  on  the  pier  were  mere  dots,  so  the 
curious  girls  hurried  down  to  see  who  had  sent 
Polly  the  Valentine  roses.  Ruth  accompanied 
them,  as  she  felt  she  should  have  been  the  third 
in  this  girl  relationship — like  triplets,  she  said,  one 
day,  to  her  father. 

Then  the  door  was  opened,  and  sweet  fragrance 
greeted  the  girls.  There  in  a  corner  of  the  state- 
room stood  a  dozen  American  Beauty  roses,  each 
with  a  stem  almost  four  feet  long.  And  about  the 
stems  a  golden  cord  was  tied,  and  upon  this  cord 
hung  a  card. 

The  three  girls  stood  admiring  the  great  crim- 
son beauties  and  then  Ruth  said:  "See  who  they 
are  from — and  who  for?" 

"Why,  they're  Polly's,  of  course.  The  same 
'old  valentine'  sent  them !"  laughed  Eleanor. 

Polly's  fingers  trembled  as  she  bent  forward 
and  read  what  was  written  on  the  card:  "Your 
Valentine  that  was,  and  is,  and  always  will  be,  in 
this  world,  and  in  the  next,  and  forever,  Tom." 

"Oh,  no !  No !  No !  No !  I  won't  have  you  so, 
Tom!"  cried  Polly,  throwing  herself  in  the  chair 
and  covering  her  face  with  her  hands.  Eleanor 
and  Ruth  stood  perfectly  still,  not  knowing  what 
to  do  or  say. 


292  POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 

Then  Polly  lifted  her  face.  She  was  trying  to 
smile.  "Dear  old  Tom  only  did  that  to  tease  me. 
Isn't  he  an  old  plague?" 

"I  should  say  he  was!"  exclaimed  Ruth,  inno- 
cently. 

Eleanor  with  the  worldly  wisdom  learned  from 
her  mother,  added  guilefully:  "He  sure  is.  But 
you  tricked  him,  Polly." 

"How?"  eagerly  inquired  Polly. 

"He  was  the  only  one  in  the  party  who  didn't 
get  a  kiss  from  you !"  laughed  Eleanor. 

"That's  so!"  admitted  Polly,  but  Eleanor  was 
not  sure  whether  her  friend  was  sorry  or  satisfied 
at  the  result. 

Then,  as  the  days  passed,  Eleanor  noticed  that 
Polly  never  mentioned  the  roses  again,  but  they 
were  kept  as  fresh  as  possible,  and  weeks  later, 
Eleanor  found  one  of  them  carefully  pressed  with 
the  card  still  tied  to  it. 

But  this  discovery,  and  all  that  happened  dur- 
ing that  Summer  in  Europe,  while  visiting  famous 
places  and  viewing  rare  objects  of  antiquity,  are 
told  in  another  volume  called  ".Polly  and  Eleanor 
Abroad." 


THE  END 


Would  you  like  to  know  what 
became  of  the  good  friends  you 
have  made  in  this  book? 

Would  you  like  to  read  other 
stories  continuing  their  adventures 
and  experiences,  or  other  books 
quite  as  entertaining  by  the  same 
author  ? 

On  the  reverse  side  of  the  wrap- 
per which  comes  with  this  book, 
you  will  find  a  wonderful  list  of 
stories  which  you  can  buy  at  the 
same  store  where  you  got  this  book. 

Oon't  throw  away  the  Wrappei 

Use  it  as  a  handy  catalog  of  the  booh 
you  want  some  day  to  have.  iBut  in 
case  you  do  mislay  it,  write  to  the. 
'Publishers  for  a  complete  catalog. 


THE  POLLY  BREWSTER  SERIES 

By  LILLIAN  ELIZABETH  ROY 

Durably  Bound.     Illustrated.    Colored  Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

A  delightful  series  for  girls  in  which  they  will  fol- 
low Polly  and  Eleanor  through  many  interesting 
adventures  and  enjoyable  trips  to  various  places  in 
the  United  States,  Europe  and  South  America. 

POLLY  OF  PEBBLY  PIT 
POLLY  AND  ELEANOR 
POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 
POLLY  AND  HER  FRIENDS  ABROAD 
POLLY'S  BUSINESS  VENTURE 
POLLY'S  SOUTHERN  CRUISE 
POLLY  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 
POLLY  IN  THE  SOUTHWEST 
POLLY  IN  ALASKA 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,   NEW  YORK 


THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS~SERiES 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 

Author  of  the  "Eobbsey  Twins,"  "Bunny  Brown"  Series,Etc. 

Uniform  Style  of  Binding.    Individual  Colored  Wrapper..     ' 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

These  are  the  tales  of  the  various  adventures  par- 
ticipated in  by  a  group  of  bright,  fun-loving,  up-to-date 
girls  who  have  a  common  bond  in  their  fondness  for 
outdoor  life,  camping,  travel  and  adventure.     They  are 
clean  and  wholesome  and  free  from  sensationalism. 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  OF  DEEPDALE 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  RAINBOW  LAKE 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  A  MOTOR  CAR 
1  HE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  A  WINTER  CAMP 
1  HE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  FLORIDA 
J  HE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  OCEAN  VIEW 
1  HE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  ARMY  SERVICE 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  THE  HOSTESS 
HOUSE 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  BLUFF  POINT 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  WILD  ROSE  LODGE 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  THE  SADDLE 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AROUND  THE  CAMP- 
FIRE 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  CAPE  COD 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  FOAMING  FALLS 
THE  OUTDOORJalRLS  ALONG  THE  COAST 
THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  SPRING  HILL  FARM 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   Publishers,   NEW  YORK 


THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  BOOKS 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers  and  Text  Illustration*  by 

THELMA  GOOCH 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself 

The  Blythe  girls,  three  in  number,  were  left  alone  in 
New  York  City.  Helen,  who  went  in  for  art  and  mu- 
sic, kept  the  little  flat  uptown,  while  Margy,  just  out 
of  a  business  school,  obtained  a  position  as  a  private 
secretary  and  Rose,  plain-spoken  and  businesslike,  took 
what  she  called  a  "job"  in  a  department  storft. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS :  HELEN,  MARGY  AND  ROSE 

A  fascinating  tale  of  real  happenings  in  the  great  metropolis 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS :  MARGY'S  QUEER  INHERITANCE 

The  Girls  had  a  peculiar  old  aunt  and  when  she  died  she  left 
an  unusual  inheritance. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS:  ROSE'S  GREAT  PROBLEM 

Rose,  still  at  work  in  the  big  department  store,  is  one  day  faced 
with  the  greatest  problem  of  her  life. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS :  HELEN'S  STRANGE  BOARDER 

Helen  goes  to  the  assistance  of  a  strange  girl,  whose  real  iden- 
tity is  a  puzzle.  Who  the  girl  really  was  comes  as  a  tremendous 
su  prise. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS :  THREE  ON  A  VACATION 

The  girls  go  to  the  country  for  two  weeks — and  fall  in  with  all 
sorts  of  curious  and  exciting  happenings. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS :  MARGY'S  SECRET  MISSION 

Of  course  we  cannot  divulge  the  big  secret,  but  nevertheless 
the  girls  as  usual  have  many  exciting  experiences. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS:  ROSE'S  ODD  DISCOVERY 

A  very  interesting  story,  telling  how  Rose  aided  an  old  man  in 
the  almost  hopeless  search  for  his  daughter. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,   NEW  YORK 


GIRL   SCOUTS  SERIES 

By  LILLIAN  ELIZABETH  ROY 
Author  of  the  "Polly  Brewster  Books" 

Handsomely  Bound.    Colored  Wrappers.    Illustrated 
Each  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 


Here  is  a  series  that  holds  the  same  position  for  girls  that 
the  Tom  Slade  and  Roy  Blakeley  books  hold  for  boys. 
They  are  delightful  stories  of  Girl  Scout  camp  life  amid 
beautiful  surroundings  and  are  filled  with  stirring  adventures. 

GIRL  SCOUTS  AT  DANDELION  CAMP 

This  is  a  story  which  centers  around  the  making  and  the 
enjoying  of  a  mountain  camp,  spiced  with  the  fun  of  a  lively 
troop  of  Girl  Scouts.  The  charm  of  living  in  the  woods,  of 
learning  woodcraft  of  all  sorts,  of  adventuring  into  the  un- 
known, combine  to  make  a  busy  and  an  exciting  summer 
for  the  girls. 
GIRL  SCOUTS  IN  THE  ADIRONDACKS 

New  scenery,  new  problems  of  camping,  association  with 
a  neighboring  camp  of  Boy  Scouts,  and  a  long  canoe  trip 
with  them  through  the  Fulton  Chain,  all  in  the  setting  of 
the  marvelous  Adirondacks,  bring  to  the  girls  enlargement 
of  horizon,  new  development,  and  new  joys. 
GIRL  SCOUTS  IN  THE  ROCKIES 

On  horseback  from  Denver  through  Estes  Park  as  far  as 
the  Continental  Divide,  climbing  peaks,  riding  wild  trails, 
canoeing  through  canyons,  shooting  rapids,  encountering  a 
landslide,  a  summer  blizzard,  a  sand  storm,  wild  animals, 
and  forest  fires,  the  girls  pack  the  days  full  with  unforget- 
able  experiences. 
GIRL  SCOUTS  IN  ARIZONA  AND  NEW  MEXICO 

The  Girl  Scouts  visit  the  mountains  and  deserts  of  Ari- 
zona and  New  Mexico.    They  travel  over  the  old  Sante  Fe 
trail,  cross  the  Painted  Desert,  and  visit  the  Grand  Canyon. 
Their  exciting  adventures  form  a  most  interesting  story. 
GIRL  SCOUTS  IN  THE  REDWOODS 

The  girls  spend  their  summer  in  the  Redwoods  of  Cali- 
fornia and  incidentally  find  a  way  to  induce  a  famous  mo- 
tion picture  director  in  Hollywood  to  offer  to  produce  a 
film  that  stars  the  Girl  Scouts  of  America. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,    NEW  YORK 


THE    LILIAN   GARIS    BOOKS 

Attractively  Bound..  Illustrated.  Individual  Colored  Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Lilian  Garis  is  one  of  the  writers  who  always  wrote. 
She  expressed  herself  in  verse  from  early  school  days  and 
it  was  then  predicted  that  Lilian  Mack  would  one  day 
become  a  writer.  Justifying  this  sentiment,  while  still  at 
high  school,  she  took  charge  of  the  woman's  page  for  a 
city  paper  and  her  work  there  attracted  such  favorable 
attention  that  she  left  school  to  take  entire  charge  of 
woman's  work  for  the  largest  daily  in  an  important 
Eastern  city. 

Mrs.  Garis  turned  to  girls'  books  directly  after  her 
marriage,  and  of  these  she  has  written  many.  She  believes 
in  girls,  studies  them  and  depicts  them  with  pen  both 
skilled  and  sympathetic. 

CLEG'S  MISTY  RAINBOW 

CLEG'S  CONQUEST 

BARBARA  HALE:  A  DOCTORS  DAUGHTER 

BARBARA  HALE  AND  COZETTE 

GLORIA:  A  GIRL  AND  HER  DAD 

GLORIA  AT  BOARDING  SCHOOL 

JOAN:  JUST  GIRL 

JOAN'S  GARDEN  OF  ADVENTURE 

CONNIE  LORING'S  AMBITION 

CONNIE  LORING'S  DILEMMA 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,    NEW  YORK 


AMY  BELL  MARLOWE'S  BOOKS 
FOR  GIRLS 

Charming,  Fresh  and  Original  Storict 

Illustrated.  Wrappers  Printed  in  Colors  with  individual  design  for  each  story 

Miss  Marlowe's  books  for  girls  are  somewhat  of  the 
type  of  Miss  Alcott  and  also  Mrs.  Meade ;  but  all  are 
thoroughly  up-to-date  and  wholly  American  in  scene 
and  action.  Good,  clean  absorbing  tales  that  all  girls 
thoroughly  enjoy. 

THE  OLDEST  OF  FOUR  ;  Or,  Natalie's  Way  Out. 

A  sweet  story  of  the  struggles  of  a  live  girl  to  keep  a  family  from  want. 

THE  GIRLS  AT  HILLCREST  FARM  ;  Or,  The  Secret  of  the  Rocks. 

Relating  the  trials  of  two  girls  who  take  boarders  on  an  old  farm. 

A  LITTLE  MISS  NOBODT ;  Or,  With  the  Girls  of  Pinewood  Hall. 

Tells  of  a  school  girl  who  was  literally  a  nobody  until  she  solved  the 
mystery  of  her  identity. 

THE  GIRL  FROM  SUNSET  RANCH  ;  Or,  Alone  in  a  Great  City. 

A  ranch  girl  comes  to  New  York  to  meet  relatives  she  has  never  seen. 
Her  adventures  make  unusually  good  reading. 

WYN'S  CAMPING  DAYS  ;  Or,  Tie  Onting  of  the  GO-AHEAD  CLUB. 

A  tale  of  happy  days  on  the  water  and  under  canvas,  with  A  touch  of 
mystery  and  considerable  excitement. 

FRANCES  OF  THE  RANGES  ;  Or,  The  Old  Ranchman's  Treasure. 

A  vivid  picture  of  life  on  the  great  cattle  ranges  of  the  West. 
THE  GIRLS  OF  RIVERCLIFF  SCHOOL ;  Or,  Beth  Baldwin's  Resolve. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  entertaining  stories  centering  about  a  girl'« 
school  that  has  ever  been  written. 

WHEN  ORIOLE  CAME  TO  HARBOR  LIGHT. 

The  story  of  a  young  girl,  cast  up  by  the  sea,  and  rescued  by  an  old 
lighthouse  keeper. 

WHEN  ORIOLE  TRAVELED  WESTWARD. 

Oriole  visits  the  family  of  a  rich  ranchman  and  enjoya  herself  immensely. 

WHEN  ORIOLE  WENT  TO  BOARDING  SCHOOL. 

How  this  brave  girl  bears  up  under  the  most  trying  experience*,  make* 
a  very  interesting  story. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


CAROLYN    WELLS    BOOKS 

Attractively  Bound.     Illustrated.     Colored  Wrappers. 

THE  MARJORIE  BOOKS 

Marjorie  is  a  happy  little  girl  of  twelve,  up  to 
mischief,  but  full  of  goodness  and  sincerity.  In  her 
and  her  friends  every  girl  reader  will  see  much  of 
her  own  love  of  fun,  play  and  adventure. 
MARJORIE'S  VACATION 
MARJORIE'S  BUSY  DAYS 
MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 
MARJORIE  IN  COMMAND 
MARJORIE'S  MAYTIME 
MARJQRIE  AT  SEACOTE 

THE  TWO  LITTLE  WOMEN  SERIES 

Introducing  Dorinda  Fayre — a  pretty  blonde, 
sweet,  serious,  timid  and  a  little  slow,  and  Dorothy 
Rose — a  sparkling  brunette,  quick,  elf- like,  high 
tempered,  full  of  mischief  and  always  getting  into 
scrapes. 

TWO  LITTLE  WOMEN 

TWO  LITTLE  WOMEN  AND  TREASURE 

HOUSE 
TWO  LITTLE  WOMEN  ON  A  HOLIDAY 

THE  DICK  AND  DOLLY  BOOKS 

Dick  and  Dolly  are  brother  and  sister,  and  their 
games,  their  pranks,  their  joys  and  sorrows,  are  told  ? 
in  a  manner  which  makes  the  stories  "really  true" 
to  young  readers. 

DICK  AND  DOLLY 

DICK  AND  DOLLY'S  ADVENTURES 


THE    HONEY    BUNCH   BOOKS 

By  HELEN  LOUISE  THORNDYKE 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers  and  Text  Illustration*  Drawn  by 
WALTER  S.   ROGERS 

A  new  line  of  fascinating  tales  for  little  girls.  Honey 
Bunch  is  a  dainty,  thoughtful  little  girl,  and  to  know  her 
is  to  take  her  to  your  heart  at  once. 

HONEY  BUNCH:  JUST  A  LITTLE  GIRL 

Happy  days  at  home,  helping  mamma  and  the  washerlady.  And  Honey 
Bunch  helped  the  house  painters  too — or  thought  she  aid. 

HONEY  BUNCH:  HER  FIRST  VISIT  TO  THE 

CITY 

What  wonderful  sights  Honey  Bunch  saw  when  she  went  to  visit  her 
coushui  in  New  York  I  And  she  got  lost  in  a  big  hotel  and  wandered  into 
s  men's  convention  1 

HONEY  BUNCH:  HER  FIRST  DAYS  ON  THE 

FARM 

Can  you  remember  how  the  farm  looked  the  first  time  you  visited  it  ? 
How  big  the  cows  and  horses  were,  and  what  a  roomy  place  to  play  in  the 
barn  proved  to  be  ? 

HONEY  BUNCH:  HER  FIRST  VISIT  TO  THE 

SEASHORE 

Honey  Bunch  soon  got  used  to  the  big  waves  and  thought  playing  in  the 
sand  great  fun.  And  she  visited  a  merry-go-round,  and  took  part  in  a  sea- 
side  pageant. 

HONEY  BUNCH:   HER  FIRST  LITTLE 

GARDEN 

It  was  great  sport  to  dig  and  to  plant  with  one's  own  little  garden  took 
Bat  best  of  all  was  when  Honey  Bunch  won  a  prize  at  the  flower  show 

HONEY  BUNCH:   HER  FIRST  DAYS  IN  CAMP 

It  was  a  great  adventure  for  Honey  Bunch  when  she  journeyed  to  Camp 
Snapdragon.  It  was  wonderful  to  watch  the  men  erect  the  tent,  and  more 
wonderful  to  live  in  it  and  have  good  times  on  the  shore  and  in  the  water. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,    NEW  YORK 


THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  BOOKS 

For  Little  Men  and  Women 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 
Author  of  "The  Bunny  Brown  Series,"  Etc. 

Durably    Bound.       Illustrated.       Uniform    Style    of    Binding. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

These  books  for  boys  and  girls  between  the  ages  of  three 
and  ten  stands  among  children  and  their  parents  of  this 
generation  where  the  books  of  Louisa  May  Alcott  stood  in 
former  days.  The  haps  and  mishaps  of  this  inimitable  pair 
of  twins,  their  many  adventures  and  experiences  are  a 
source  of  keen  delight  to  imaginative  children  everywhere. 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  IN  THE  COUNTRY 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  THE  SEASHORE 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  SCHOOL 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  SNOW  LODGE 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  ON  A  HOUSEBOAT 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  MEADOW  BROOK 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  HOME 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  IN  A  GREAT  CITY 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  ON  BLUEBERRY  ISLAND 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  ON  THE  DEEP  BLUE  SEA 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  IN  THE  GREAT  WEST 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  CEDAR  CAMP 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  THE  COUNTY  FAIR 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  CAMPING  OUT 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AND  BABY  MAY 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  KEEPING  HOUSE 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  CLOVERBANK 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,          PUBLISHERS,          NEW  YORK. 


THE    BUNNY    BROWN    SERIES 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 
Author  of   the    Popular  "  Bobbsey  Twins"  Books,  Etc 

Durably  Bound.     Illustrated.     Uniform  Style  of  Binding. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

These  stories  are  eagerly  welcomed  by  the  little  folks 
from  about  five  to  ten  years  of  age.  Their  eyes  fairly  dance 
with  delight  at  the  lively  doings  of  inquisitive  little  Bunny 
Brown  and  his  cunning,  trustful  sister  Sue. 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  ON  GRANDPA'S 

FARM 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  PLAYING  CIRCUS 
BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  CAMP-REST- 

A-WHILE 
BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  AUNT  LU'S 

CITY  HOME 
BUNNY   BROWN   AND    HIS    SISTER    SUE  IN   THE  BIG 

WOODS 
BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  ON  AN  AUTO 

TOUR 
BUNNY    BROWN    AND    HIS    SISTER    SUE    AND  THEIR 

SHETLAND  PONY 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  GIVING  A  SHOW 
BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  CHRISTMAS 

TREE  COVE 
BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  IN  THE  SUNNY 

SOUTH 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  KEEPING  STO 
BUNNY    BROWN   AND    HIS   SISTER    SUE    AND  THEIR 

TRICK  DOG 
BUNNY    BROWN    AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE   AT  A  SUGAR 

CAMP 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  ON  THE  ROLL- 
ING OCEAN 
BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  ON  JACK  FROST 

ISLAND , 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  SERIES 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 

Author  of  The  Bobbsey  Twins  Books,  The  Bunny 
Brown  Series,  The  Blythe  Girls  Books,  Etc. 

Durably   Bound.       Illustrated.       Uniform    Style    of   Binding. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Delightful  stories  for  little  boys  and  girls  which  sprung 
into  immediate  popularity.  To  know  the  six  little  Bunkers 
is  to  take  them  at  once  to  your  heart,  they  are  so  intensely 
human,  so  full  of  fun  and  cute  sayings.  Each  story  has  a 
little  plot  of  its  own — one  that  can  be  easily  followed — and 
all  are  written  in  Miss  Hope's  most  entertaining  manner. 
Clean,  wholesome  volumes  which  ought  to  be  on  the  book- 
shelf of  every  child  in  the  land. 

SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  GRANDMA  BELL'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  AUNT  JO'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  COUSIN  TOM'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  GRANDPA  FORD'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  UNCLE  FRED'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  CAPTAIN  BEN'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  COWBOY  JACK'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  MAMMY  JUNE'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  FARMER  JOEL'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  MILLER  NED'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  INDIAN  JOHN'S 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,          PUBLISHERS,          NEW  YORK. 


THE  RIDDLE  CLUB   BOOKS 

By  ALICE  DALE  HARDY 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers.     Attractively  Illustrated. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Here  is  as  ingenious  a  series  of  books  for  little  folks  as 
has  ever  appeared  since  "  Alice  in  Wonderland."  The  idea  , 
of  the  Riddle  books  is  a  little  group  of  children— three  girls  | 
and  three  boys  decide  to  form  a  riddle  club.  Each  book  is 
full  of  the  adventures  and  doings  of  these  six  youngsters, 
but  as  an  added  attraction  each  book  is  filled  with  a  lot  of 
the  best  riddles  you  ever  heard. 

THE  RIDDLE  CLUB  AT  HOME 

An  absorbing  tale  that  all  boys  and  girls  will  enjoy  reading. 
How  the  members  of  the  club  fixed  up  a  clubroom  in  the  Larue 
barn,  and  how  they,  later  on,  helped  solve  a  most  mysterious 
happening,  and  how  one  of  the  members  won  a  valuable  prize, 
is  told  in  a  manner  to  please  every  young  reader. 

THE  RIDDLE  CLUB  IN  CAMP 

The  club  members  went  into  camp  on  the  edge  of  a  beautiful 
lake  Here  they  had  rousing  good  times  swimming,  boating 
and  around  the  campfire.  They  fell  in  with  a  mystf"ous,old  m,a" 
known  as  The  Hermit  of  Triangle  Island.  Nobody  knew  his 
real  name  or  where  he  came  from  until  the  propounding  of  a 
riddle  solved  these  perplexing  questions. 

THE  RIDDLE  CLUB  THROUGH  THE 

HO  LID  A  i  b 

This  volume  takes  in  a  great  number  of  winter  sports,  includ- 
inffskatTng  Sid  sledding  Ind  the  building  of  a  huge  snowman. 
K  also  Sves  the  particulars  of  how  the  club  treasurer  lost  the 
dues ,  trusted  to  his  care  and  what  the  melting  of  the  great 
snowman  revealed. 
THE  RIDDLE  CLUB  AT  SUNRISE  BEACH 

that  greatly  pleased  the  folks  at  home. 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP, 


Jerry  Todd  and  Poppy  Ott  Series 

BY  LEO  EDWARDS 

Durably  Bound.     Illustrated.      Individual  Colored  Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  boys  who  laughed  until  their 
sides  ached  over  the  weird  and  wonderful  adventures  of 
Jerry  Todd  and  his  gang  demanded  that  Leo  Edwards, 
the  author,  give  them  more  books  like  the  Jerry  Todd 
stories  with  their  belt-bursting  laughs  and  creepy  shivers. 
So  he  took  Poppy  Ott,  Jerry  Todd's  bosom  chum  and 
created  the  Poppy  Ott  Series,  and  if  such  a  thing  could  be 
possible — they  are  even  more  full  of  fun  and  excitement 
than  the  Jerry  Todds. 

THE  POPPY  OTT  SERIES 

POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  STUTTERING  PARROT 
POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  SEVEN  LEAGUE  STILTS 
POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  GALLOPING  SNAIL 
POPPY  OTTS  PEDIGREED  PICKLES 

THE  JERRY  TODD  BOOKS 

JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  WHISPERING  MUMMY 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  ROSE-COLORED  CAT 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  OAK  ISLAND  TREASURE 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  WALTZING  HEN 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  TALKING  FROG 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  PURRING  EGG 
JERRY  TODD  IN  THE  WHISPERING  CAVE 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,    NEW  YORK 


uc  some*  REGKMM.  LIBRARY  FAOUTY 


A    000  050  929    9 


